A final "adieu"

So, what's been happening these last few weeks?

Spent a lovely day with mum as she stopped over in KL on her way to Europe. We went to the KL Lake Gardens and saw all the beautiful flowers AND the butterfly garden. Showed her my "crib" and went to a yoga class before filling up with food and sending her on her way!




Otherwise, it's mainly been studying for exams. They were alright but what's most important is that now it's OVER!!! Have to say, studying was actually really fun. Stayed away from Ally as much as possible to avoid our gossip sessions, discovered how weird Tom really is (he's really weird), practically moved in with Sian and studied for hours on end in her company. A very healthy and fun study period. Sian even came over this morning to support me in my final efforts before today's exam! Pre-exams is not usually such a good time, so was great!

Off to Vietnam tomorrow for the week. Will be back next Saturday, hit Reggae bar one last time, pack in the morning then off to Melbourne. Only momentarily though. Am hiking for a week in Tassie with Paddy, Alice, James, Ryan & someobody else i don't know. My current fitness is questionable. I'm not sure my "Sun Salutations" will have me well prepared but am looking forward to it all the same.

OK. Well, at the risk of sounding lame & teary I'd like to make a few special mentions (it is my last post after all...and this time it really will be my last post, I promise!).

I would like to thank my parentals for supporting me throughout these adventures that started out as "my year overseas" and turned into "a year and a half a little bit all over the place"! I also want to thank family and friends back home for reading my blog and keeping in touch and all the people I've met and new friends I've made througout my travels - without whom there would have been no stories to tell :)

Things I will miss:
- Malaysian food
- Elias
- Arthur
- crazy fun times with Ally
- tea, food and study with Sian
- cheap and brilliant Yoga
- the weather (storms especially)
- Reggae bar
- the cheapness (eg. 1AUD packets of OREOS)
- Sunway Campus and class mates
- microbes with Tom
- dancing with Lee
- answering to "Alex" when I'm not being spoken too (when ppl talk to my name twin, unfortunately Zan never took off)
- Malaysian english la!
- Sunday & Tuesday market
- not wearing closed shoes
- Craigie-Berns (those cheeky South Africans)

Things I will miss less:
- Air-con
- traffic
- sweating and smelling most of the time
- 3am wake up calls from James (although, to be fair he hasn't done this recently :P and he even cooked us up a mean pasta dish last week)
- being inappropriately stared at
- nasty taxi drivers

Things I am looking forward to:
- being an Auntie!!!
- fun times with friends and family
- Summer
- recycling
- Sorrento back beach rock pool
- HOME!!!

Adios amigos xoxo

Olenka

Malaysian Textiles

Today I took a (perhaps not so well deserved :P ) study break and released my inner Picasso. I made Batik with Scarlett, Liz and Averil.


Denni and the others showing off (I think they've done this before!)


Averil's beautiful Batik


My masterpiece :)


Scarlett working hard!

A wonderful morning overall, topped off with a chocolate factory visit and more yummy Malaysian food...back into the study for now, first exam on Thursday!

Oh, and mum will be dropping by on Friday. Looking forward to some TLC :)

Hope you're all well

Love from Ola xoxo

Recipe for satisfaction and contentedness

INGREDIENTS
Vegetable farms
Strawberry farms
Steamboat dinner
Mossy forest walk
Flower farms
Tea plantations
A good book

1. Ask a friend to join you for a weekend in the Cameron Highlands (in this case, Lauren).

2. Take a bus from Pudaraya station (in KL) to Tanah Rata and stay in a quiet hostel nearby, Daniel's Lodge.

3. Book a couple of half day tours combining the above ingredients.

4. Sprinkle with some tea and scones with jam & cream.

Note: For best results, don't forget the random bus trip home that stops to pick up anybody on the road only to arrive at your destination 2 hours later than expected.

Photos of some I prepared earlier...


Lauren lost amongst flowers


BOH Tea plantation


Vegetable farm & Alex

Love to all

Olenka xoxo

Family Reunions

Anne left me just last Saturday after a wonderful couple of weeks together. It was great, we didn't even fight (I was quite impressed)! So where to start?

Spent the first weekend at the Perhentian Islands with Ally. We flew up to Pulau Kecil (pronounced Ke-chill, as in we ke-chilled on the island) and were dropped off by water taxi to our lovely, secluded beach hotel D'Lagoon (more like shacks surrounded by jungle on one side and beach on the other). It was gorgeous, perhaps my favourite place I've been to so far. It was the end of Hari Raya so the owner even gave us a free meal on the Sunday...food tastes amazing when it's free :)

Ally convinced me to try some diving so we went on a discovery dive. Lasted about an hour, 12 metres deep. Saw lots of little nemo's and plenty of other fish. It was fantastic. Also got to see a turtle when snorkelling!



Came home for a couple of days for uni. Caught up with friends, took Anne to all the crazy malls and then we were off again. This time to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo.

Stayed in KK just one night, enough to go to the crazy night market with the philipino bbq and delicious mee goreng (added deliciousness because it only costs 1$AU)! We then moved on to Mount Kinabalu National Park to attempt the 4000 metre peak. It was pretty tough, up all the way (well, we were climbing a mountain) and our legs were sore for a couple of days afterwards. What was most disappointing was that we were only able to make it to the Laban Rata guest house (3200m). We woke up at 2am the second day and waited for the OK from the ranger to continue the climb and watch the sunrise (or the sunset come up as Tom would say). But strong winds and rain meant that this was impossible. So back to bed, only to wake up in a few hours and return to the bottom. We were quite upset but a visit to the Poring Hot Springs, back to KK and we were quite satisfied all the same. It's quite a beautiful walk. Ally climbed just a couple of days after us and the photos look amazing.


We then moved on to the East coast, Sandakan, where the Orang Utans live. Went to Sepilok to watch them feed and all. Very cute. I think I prefer them to monkeys. The rehabilitation centre was quite similar to the elephant one I visited previously although they have less contact with humans really. Decided to spend 3 days on Jungle camp...Uncle Tan's Wildlife Addventures!!!


Absolutely loved that. We had guides take us Jungle trekking and on river boat rides to see the wildlife. Managed to see wild orang utans, crocodiles, millipedes, monkeys, monkeys and more monkeys! And there was plenty of food (Alex was happy). Stayed in open huts with mosquitoe nets to protect us overnight. No showers so we were pretty smelly by the end of the trip! What was a little strange were the surrounding Palm Oil plantations. We took 2 hours by bus to get to the camp as well as a short boat trip and all the way we could only see palm oil plantations. They're not so pretty either. It's not very cool seeing an orang utan up in a tree, sleeping and then seeing/hearing a giant truck about 20 metres behind it.

Made our way back to KL and said our good byes. A pretty wonderful holiday over all.

Uni is coming to an end soon. Just a couple more weeks of classes and then exams. :( It's all gone by very quickly. They're even having a farewell dinner at uni tonight (a bit too soon I think but never mind).

Dad is arriving tomorrow. Visiting for the weekend. I have plenty planned to keep him busy, should be fun.

Love to all

Alex xoxo

Kuala Gandah

Today I had a splendid time playing with elephants at a relocation sanctuary about 2 hours north of KL in Kuala Gandah. We had the opportunity to feed, ride and bathe with the elephants. They are quite amazing creatures with very rough skin and surprisingly hairy! I have quite mixed feelings about the centre though. It's never nice seeing animals chained up but at the same time I know that these elephants are probably safer here than in the wild.

The centre was very honest about their work. Basically, rainforest and jungles in Malaysia are diminishing in size due to palm oil plantations. Animals are forced into smaller areas and sometimes cause trouble to farmers in damaging their crops. The conservation unit relocates the elephants to national parks such as Taman Negara on the Malaysia Peninsular. However, due to lack of funds, they can't afford to attach satellite devices to all the relocated elephants which means they don't know if the herds are reunited or where the elephants go after release...so basically, they have no idea if this is relocation thing is working.

So I guess it's a good thing that the farmers are asking for help rather than killing the elephants but we don't really know if the elephants are better off...

 

 

Feeding time!

 

Chris "Fonty" Funtera and Alex-"Zan"-dra riding an elephant :)

Quiet weekend otherwise. I was shocked at the idea of "replacement classes" on a Saturday afternoon...with a test! Malaysia...Truly asia! Have been studying hard with Lauren (Chem Eng buddy...Control in particular) in her VERY quiet appartment...Everybody is travelling all the time. Trying to get assignments done early so I can relax when Anne arrives on Saturday.

Next destinations: Perhentian Islands followed by Malaysia Borneo!

Biz lah!

Ola xoxo

Quick link

Anne and I are visiting the orang-utans in Malaysia Borneo in a couple of weeks.

'Green palm oil' claims land Cadbury's in sticky chocolate mess

But I bought a block of Cadbury chocolate just yesterday. It's in the fridge, will have to check the ingredients!

Ola xoxo

The Lucky Country

Another long weekend! I was a good girl (or study nerd...or both) and bailed on my trip to the Cameron Highlands due to Uni work load :( This meant that it was also my first weekend without Ally! We haven't spent this much time apart since we left Australia!!! It's been hard but I am coping...

Quick story -
Was coming home from Sunway Pyramid on the bus yesterday. I only had a 10RM note for the 1RM fare and as I searched for shrapnel in my wallet, a Malay lady who had bought her fare just ahead of me quickly placed some coins in my hand. She paid for my ticket! It's not much but I can't help thinking that I wouldn't have done the same. Just another example of how friendly the locals here are!

Good night and sweet dreams

A-ROD

Happy Merdeka Day!!!

Ally and the petronas towers!



I'm drinking from a bag!!!



Ramadhan Bazaar!!! So much food!!



Jinn-Eric, Arthur, Alex, Simon...and the towers (again)

Hello, hello! A few things I’ve noticed the last few weeks…

Everybody here is scared of H1N1. They take it very seriously. They’re making a huge kafuffle about it all! There are plenty of people around wearing masks. We are temperature tested when entering uni, clubs and other crowded areas. They cancelled much of the festivities for Independence Day for the 1st time in 52 years!!! I couldn’t believe that. Imagine cancelling Australia Day celebs!?! We had a lovely evening last night. Went to a Ramadhan bazaar with plenty of food. Went to KLCC gardens to enjoy the feast and waited around until midnight for the “Merdeka” fireworks…only to find that when the clock struck 12 the only fireworks were the ones of outrage at having waited 4 hours for nothing!!! All in the name of swine flu. There was still a massive crowd celebrating and we got a free train ride so I’m not actually complaining!

Went out with Arthur last week to an Indie club, Zouk, in KL. It was great. He has HEAPS of friends and they are all SO nice, it’s crazy. It makes us feel bad for the Malaysians who come to Australia. I am quite sure we are not as welcoming. They are very strict with closing times here when it comes to clubs and pubs. At 3am everything shuts. Except food, which is where we went next :) Malaysian food is quite delicious. The funny thing was seeing families out and eating at 4am, although maybe it was due to Ramadhan.

Ramadhan month. Doesn’t mean much for us apart from a few public holidays. I did learn however (pardon my ignorance) that there are 2 laws in Malaysia. Your “normal” average law and Muslim law. It means that if you are Muslim you will be charged under Muslim regulations. For example, recently a Muslim girl was whipped for drinking beer. I’m not sure exactly how they enforce this stuff but it is apparently so.

Another thing I learnt. I have a class mate from Yemen who grew up in Saudi Arabia. It turns out, in Saudi, you can’t do anything. They don’t even have cinemas apparently. If you want to go to the shopping mall you have to go with your family. I asked him what they did and it seemed like they would just hang out on the streets with friends, although I think there may be limits on the size of the group you can be in. It seemed so strange and quite the paradox because back home I feel that people need bars and movies and things to keep them occupied so that they stay out of trouble. But apparently in Saudi, it’s the opposite and it works! Who would’ve guessed?!



Well, back to studying on a public holiday!

(Don’t worry Dad, I’ve been very good this weekend, was at the uni library ALL day both Saturday and Sunday!!! Although I could be making up for the upcoming trip to Cameron Highlands next weekend :P )

Love to all

Ola xoxo

Trip home from KL....

I've heard a lot about how corrupt the Malaysian police are, people getting out of sticky situations by "buying them a drink" or whatever else. Last night I experienced it for myself!

We were on our way home from KL (after Ally's fashion debut!!!). Our friend, Arthur, was driving and I was very grateful that we got caught out with him around. Basically, we were stopped at a road block on the highway. Clearly, we were targeted because we're so obviously foreigners. Cars speeding past the block were always full of locals.

So, they asked us step out and provide ID. We gave them our Australian drivers license but it didn't suffice, they needed our passports. Now, for some reason that is still unclear to us here, when we first arrived in Malaysia the university required that we hand in our passports so they could be sent off to get our VISAs. We were told that the process could take anywhere between 6-10 weeks...that's right - we've been without our passports since we arrived. They did give us an "official" photocopy that we were told to carry around with us. Thankfully, Ally and I were particularly organised and were carrying these bits of paper with us (it is really VERY amazing and quite lucky!). Still, it wasn't enough for Mr Policeman.

Now this is where it gets interesting...he refused to talk to Ally and myself (who were apparently causing the problem) but took Arthur aside. He took down his details and were having a nice long chat. Ally eventually had enough, went over and asked him to give us an official fine or just let us go and for some reason, he did.

What Arthur told us later was that the policeman said that there was an "easier way to take care of the situation", unless Arthur wanted us to be locked up until we could provide our passports (which, theoretically, could have been another few weeks!). Ally interrupted just in time and I guess the policeman was just frustrated with us "tourists" and knew that he could make more elsewhere. The following car that was stopped was full of caucasian girls...

An interesting experience!!!

Untitled

I can't really be bothered writing tonight (i'm sorry, hope I don't sound too flat). It's late, so I'll try to keep it short (although knowing me, it won't be!)

The weekend before last I went to Melaka (or Malacca, depending on the sign). It's a town about 2 hours south of KL. A bit of a cultural stop. It was a massive trading centre back in the day run by the Portuguese, later the Dutch and finally the British (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malacca). We went with my friends Elias and Mohamad. Elias use to study there so he knows it quite well. Ally had her first dorm room experience. Quite funny.

Some highlights; Chicken rice balls, crazy Trishaws (they like to decorate), the melaka tower and melaka eye (we didn't go up but I was quite ammused), Chinatown (we were staying there in a backpackers), night market (I always love a good market, found some delicious "Fried-egg ice cream"!!!) and bike riding. On Saturday we went out. Driving along the road we saw many bikie gangs...but not the same as back home. Here, bikie gangs are skinny emo type kids. They drive around in masses. At one stage we had to stop the car to let them all drive past. Sometimes they do tricks apparently, but we missed out on that :( On the Sunday some other Monashians (including my name twin, Alex) came down for the day so we caught up with them as well.

Last Friday I went on a site visit for my Design unit. We went to a paper mill. Basically, they make paper for boxes and things out of recycled paper and cardboard (a novel concept I found, considering it's impossible to recycle anything around here!!!). Anyways, the visit itself was alright but what I really enjoyed was just getting to know my class mates. There were about 30 of us. I just love the diversity of this country. Some of them went to find a mosque for their Friday prayer, another was telling me about Buddhism. I met people from Yemen, Brunei, Malaysia Borneo, Sumatra Indonesia and I don't know where else!!! They're all so friendly and talkative. It's great. There was plenty of free food. I had such a good time. It was a pleasant surprise overall :)

I've made another local friend Arthur. They're great to have (local friends). They often have cars and they know the best places to go. Arthur took me out for breakfast near his old high school. We ate the best Roti in town. Also got to visit his high school which was kinda cool. The buildings were quite old school and everyone stared at me (although slowly you get used to that around here, I have even found myself giving fellow white strangers accusatory looks ("what are you doing here?")!). Arthur will be coming to Australia next year so you can all meet him!!

Played volleyball on the weekend with some other locals. Was outdoor...in 30 + degrees and extreme humidity. It was quite intense. We had to finish early though due to a thunderstorm. I'm loving the rain here. Almost everyday, at some point, it'll rain terrentially with lots of thunder and plenty of lightning. Just for about 15 minutes. Can get quite scary, it's a lot of fun though. And 20 minutes later you might not even have noticed it rained because it clears up so quickly...Amazing!

Uni is going fine. Plenty of contact hours to keep me busy. Assignments are starting to stack up. I'm really enjoying my Microbes unit. Our Irish lecturer is very cool and Tom (my new biomed buddy) is great to annoy in lectures :) The labs here are also really fun. I think they're a bit more relaxed. For example, I still haven't managed to buy a lab coat here, they're always out of stock. 3 weeks in a row I've turned up to my lab without one but they don't mind. Back home I would've been shot by now!

OK, so I think I've summarised well enough (not really, these always end up being novels!!!). I'm going to recommend my name twin's blog http://www.alex-at-sunway.blogspot.com/. It's less about what he's up to and more about cultural differences/observations. It's quite good so if you have time to procrastinate (in particular, maybe Dad now that he's retired!!!) feel free to have a read.

I'll end with a few observations I have made recently:

- Footpaths in Malaysia do not really exist. They don't like to walk for more than 5 minutes because it's too humid. Our 20 minute walk to Uni seems like a hike for them!

- When crossing the road to uni, every now and then there'll be policemen directing traffic...the thing is the traffic lights are functioning perfectly well. Up there for thinking?!?!

- I think I expected everything at Monash to be the same (or similar) to the way things work at Clayton, but it's a Malaysian university, run mostly by Malaysians...(yes, seems obvious now). Also, the small size of the uni means that it's a totally different system. They don't have double degrees either and they seem to be a lot more flexible. At Clayton, if your classes clash, it's up to you to deal with that. Here, chances are you can ask your lecturer to swap things around...just for you! Bizarre!

- They love shopping malls. I have been to Pavillion, Time Square and Sunway Pyramid (it has an ice skating rink and a pirate ship restaurant) and I'm quite sure there are plenty more. It's like Chaddi, yet so much more!!!

- Cooking tomorrow night, chicken and sweet corn soup!

On that note; bonne nuit, sweet dreams, love to all

Let me know what you're all up to, feeling a little home sick and out of the loop the last few days.

Ola xoxo

It's a girl!!!

Sabine Anne Beatrice Thompson born Wednesday August 5th in Melbourne at 9H39 AM. 3.98kg

Update...

Hello, hello!

Lots has been happening, where to start? This is not going to be in order...

Birthday was brilliant. Ended up at a bar/restaurant called Rainforest near the big pyramid shopping mall. About 30 people were there from Monash, most of whom I had never met before. My friend Elias knows the management there so I got in lots of trouble including being forced to dance with Tom (a new biomed buddy)...he was NOT happy! Ally absolutely spoilt me. Scrambled eggs for breakfast, cake, presents - including an Asian cookbook. We've started cooking a bit now. The kitchen is quite good so it's worth it. Nice to have some fruit and veg too.

Have done a bit of visiting around. Went to the Sunway Lagoon water park..."FEEL THE FUN". A few slides, some pirate rides, a roller coaster. It was a nice day but we were a bit disappointed. I think it was a bit over hyped...but it's ok...we definitely felt the fun!

Saw Harry Potter in the Sunway Pyramid cinemas...Very good but next time I'll take a polar fleece! They crank up the air con here, you get goose bumps in lecture theatres. Never forget a jumper! (ridiculous considering it's 30 + outside!!!)

Went to KLCC, massive shopping centre in town, and saw the aquarium. It seems I always need to visit the fish in a city to really get to know the place (strange but it always happens). Also had a quick look at the Lake Gardens. It's beautiful, I'll have to go back to check it out properly. We only got there in the afternoon so the national mosque was closed and our legs were already wrecked from all the walking previous.

Visited Chinatown and Little India with Ally and the South Africans. I haven't seen so many white people in a long time! VERY touristy. They sell all the fake stuff in the market - Versace, gucci, Lacoste etc. Bargaining is always fun.

On the weekend we had an "orientation bash" for uni down at Port Dickson. (about 2 hours south) Spent the day at the beach. Some of the games were a bit lame (ice breaker type stuff) but it was a pretty good day over all and a lot of free food so definitely not complaining. Met plenty of people including my name twin, Alex. He is going to INSA de Lyon next semester so I have lots to discuss with him. His french is really good too!!

Uni is going well. The people are so friendly. In class, they always introduce themselves and chat with us. The classes are generally smaller than in Clayton which is really nice. I have two REALLY poor lecturers and two REALLY good lecturers. My microbes lecturer is Irish. She's quite funny so it keeps it interesting. Facilities such as labs and things are really nice. They have drink fountains and toilets everywhere which is really handy. I'm also getting used to the asian toilet. I'm finding it's actually more hygenic than the traditional kind that I am so used to. The annoying thing in public toilets is the hose they have that (I assume) they use to wash themselves with. The floor is always covered in puddles which is not so nice. Also, toilet paper (or lack of) can often be an issue.

I'm becoming a Yoga Junkie. Joined a centre nearby and I'm really enjoying it.

In other exciting news, Anne is coming to visit in the mid-semester break. We've booked the walk up Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia Borneo. Can't wait.

Even more exciting news...As of tomorrow, I will no longer be the baby of the family but be promoted to Aunty Alex!!!

Love to all, XOXO

My first soccer experience!

Just saw Manchester United defeat Malaysia 2-0 at the National Stadium...Last minute match as they (ManU) were supposed to play in Indonesia but due to bombings it was cancelled.

And it's 12am...I just turned 22 :)

xoxo

Back to school

Hello, hello

First day back at uni and my second lecture was canceled…what a great start! So, thought I’d take the time to tell you ALL about what I’ve been up to.

O week was short and sweet. Came in on Monday for some introductory stuff. Not very interesting but good to see the campus…it was a quick visit to say the least. It’s tiny (compared to Clayton standards). About 9 buildings, that’s all…but really nice, brand new, nice cheap cafeteria, no smoking on campus (lovely!), crazy air con (that’s more a general Malaysian thing I think though, I hope I don’t get sick from it) and super cheap textbooks…about a third of what I might pay back home. So if anybody would like some light “thermodynamic” reading, just let me know.

There wasn’t much else to do throughout the week so seeing as we have to hand in our passports (for 6 weeks) to get our visa, we decided to make the most of the holidays and make a quick trip to the duty free island of Langkawi, up north. Craig, Ally and I took a bus and ferry overnight before crashing in a random hotel we’d booked the night before. We went snorkeling off Payar Island. Saw some very pretty fish although most of the coral was dead, which was a shame. Also went on an Island hopping tour with eagle feeding and a visit to the Lake of the Pregnant Maiden. It’s a freshwater lake that is supposed to make ladies more fertile if they drink it…We didn’t, just to be safe. (Although I’d like to see the effect it might have on Craig.) Went to a wicked night market where we managed to buy a feast of new foods (noodles, rice, cakes, whatever we could find) for not more than $1. Crazy, crazy cheap. And finally some general lounging around on the beach. The water was so hot, almost the same temperature as outside. It was great for snorkeling but I would’ve liked something a bit more refreshing at times. (That’s right, I just complained about how warm the water is here…I may have been a little too spoilt recently!!!). Met lots of people - other Monashians from Australia, Irish backpackers, Malaysians, American travelers and I have no idea who else. Got back late Saturday night…or early Sunday morning, depending which way you want to look at it.

Ally and I had our first attempt at grocery shopping yesterday…there’s a superstore, MYDIN, right next to Casa (where we live). It’s similar to Carrefour in France, where they have EVERYTHING. You go in, you’re swamped with things to buy and struggle to find your way out. Would like to find a fresh fruit market but will see how we go. For now, we just wanted lots and lots of vegetables to keep us going for the week. If we stick to our current noodle, fried rice, meat and no-veg diet…well, we want to keep horizontal expansion to a minimum.

Also, they’re big on packaging and plastic bags here. And I haven’t seen any signs of recycling. It was quite a shock at Langkawi because from far away the beaches and surrounding islands look beautiful but when you get up close there is rubbish just everywhere. It’s amazing. Unfortunately, the quest for my favourite beach still always ends back home. :)

Other random things –

• Bus trip to uni this morning was sooooo long. Really have to figure out how to walk but a bit of a worry with my sense of direction. It’s very frustrating because I can see the uni from my bedroom window!!!
• Went to Ministry of Sound Club when we first arrived. Very fun
• Loving the heat and longer days but am used to being on holidays in this kind of weather…don’t know how that will go down with the study :P
• Managed to get Fridays off with my timetable…yippee!
• Bought plenty of DVD’s in Bali…started with Gossip Girl (xoxo), a bit of Underbelly last night…I really have too much time on my hands. All good, it’s only the first week back
• Birthday bash tomorrow…not sure what just yet but am sure I will tell you ALL about it :)

OK. I think that’s enough…

Love to all

A-ROD
xoxo

On the road again...

Well, it's been a crazy start to a new semester.

Bali with Ally & Sally - Went to Ubud for 3 days. It's more in the centre with lots of temples, traditional dancing and rice paddies. Did some white water rafting and a bike tour. The bike tour took us all the way up to see an active volcanoe with a beautiful lake view. We went to a place where they make super expensive coffee ($50 a cup, they use luwak, cute little possum like animals that eat the coffee and the bean is then collected in the...well, maybe you know what I mean). Had never seen how pineapples grow before. And we were invited into a balinese compound. The compounds are where they live as a family...like ALL the family. In-laws and everything. It was very interesting. The balinese are really friendly and relaxed. It's great. The food is delicious as well, although I did have a bit of an upset stomach on our first night in Legian, not so cool.

So the rest of the week was in Legian, near Kuta. Lots of beaching, eating, surfing (Ally and I managed to break 3 fins between us though, it was very shallow :P ), cheap massages and a few nights out. Highlights - Lembonganan Island, it was beautiful and the boat trip was much fun & Balinese cooking class, $10 US for an absolute feast and the balinese food is delicious. So many ingredients I'd never heard of before. Was great.

Was sad to see Sally go home but the arrival in Malaysia has been exciting.

Arrived here with Ally on Thursday. We're in a four bedroom, furnished, air-con (very important in this humidity) apartment living with 2 other guys. James, fellow Aussie (there are heaps of them around, it's ridiculous) and Craig, South African IT nerd. Both lovely. Ally and I arrived first so we got the best rooms. We've even got a kitchen with large fridge, 2 stoves!, microwave, even a TV.

Lots of fellow monashers in Casa Subang (the apartment block, it's in Sunway about 20 mintues out of KL although that is really dependent on traffic). We're literally all over the place. Met a lot of them last night in Chinatown. Had delicious dinner and then went to a beatles bar...yes, they only play the beatles. We have a pool as well, not really convenient for lap swimming though which is really weird because it is absolutely massive so it seems a bit like a waste of space.

Good food places at the Casa to eat at. It's so cheap. Meals with drinks for $3 easily. You can also get free maccas delivery here which I think is a real novelty. Laundromat downstairs is cheap too but I'll refrain from giving them any clothes I really like...they already shrunk a top and some shorts...sooo disappointed.

Oh yes...Quarantine was cancelled. I think the swine flu spread too far in Malaysia anyway so we just have to be careful and make sure we're not sick basically. So O Week starts tomorrow. Looking forward to checking out the campus. Looks a bit annoying to get to. We can see it from our window but there's a massive highway to cross which makes it complicated...we'll see.

If you want to check out photos...http://picasaweb.google.com/alrodriguez87/BaliMayhem#

Love to all

xoxo

Final post...

Just got back from holidaying in Germany. It's quite late (or early) and my room is a semi-packed mess as I'm getting ready to leave Lyon on Tuesday. This will have to be my last post as I really don't think I'll have much time in the next few days!!!

Seeing Fred (my godfather) again was pretty cool. He lives just half an hour or so south of Lyon near Valence. It's a country town so there was a lot sleeping, reading, eating and general relaxing. Watched my second game of rugby in my life (Ireland-France, the irish won!). It was fun to watch because Fred's step-son plays in a local rugby team. He invited all his mates to watch the match and...well...boys will be boys, it was very funny.

Had a day in the snow, catching up with more family friends. Went skiing this time so I didn't spend all day on my bum on the baby slopes ;) There was so much snow that they were causing avalanches to clear some of the slopes!!! I've never seen an avalanche before, very impressive. So that's why you should be careful off piste!!!

Back at Lyon, have been ticking a few things off my "Must do in Lyon" list which consists mainly of museums and galleries.

Germany was great! Flew to Munich where I met up with Sandra, Yvi and Yunni. Had dinner and then trained down to Allgau to stay with Sandra, Peter and her parents for a few days. There was lots of snow...LOTS of snow. Sunday was gorgeous. We went tobogganing in Steibis (a ski station just round the corner from Sandra). SOOOOO much fun, I'd only done it once before (where I took a wrong turn and got very lost in some village...this was 3 years ago). Also, had my gluhwein at the top of the mountain, always important! Caught up with Svenja too. We ended up watching movies because it snowed ALL day. There was already LOTS of snow...this was just getting ridiculous!

Decided to make my way to Berlin and discovered that a friend of mine I made at school on exchange is studying there so I was lucky enough to have a guide and a place to stay at the last minute!!! It was fantastic, cold and snowy. Apparently it rarely snows in Berlin, except for the three days I'm there, when it just doesn't stop. Jam packed few days...Reichstag building, Checkpoint Charlie, Stasi Museum (quite creepy) and so much more!!! We even managed to fit in a bit of Berlin clubbing AND the totally insane BLUE MAN GROUP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsdTeCnnRO4 Trained back to Munich today, stretched my legs around Marienplatz and eventually made it back here. I'm pretty tired but I'm not yet going to stop!!!

A bit more visiting Lyon, catching up with people before I leave and packing (a very scary thought, 20 kilos is not looking good!)

I think that is all!!!

It's been a crazy 6 months or so! Many good memories. I'm definately going to miss the cheese and the wine :( Looking forward to seeing you all when I get back!

Bis bald!

Love from Alex xoxo

Goodbye Porpoise Spit!

Hello!!!

Am super excited as I have FINALLY finished this week of hell (consisiting of 4 exams and a project presentation!) and am ready to party!!! Don't know how I went...some were total flunks but I'll get my results hopefully in the next few weeks so no point in worrying about it for now.

So, last week...Australia Day was loads of fun (Kings of Leon at number 1 of the hottest 100). Unfortunately I managed to catch another cold (I've been sick so often here it's ridiculous). Nuclear visit was cool. Ended up not being an actual plant but where they make the reactors and piping for the plant. Quite impressive and got a free feed so I was happy! Alice's 21st...Pad Thai at her place with cake. A lovely evening. I've been pretty lucky as she has had a few australian visitors in the last few days and I managed to score a few invites for dinner. Always lovely after a hard day of study/exams/stress and it's always amazing food (Jamie Oliver to be precise)! Went back to Michel and Maryline's for one last intensive study weekend. Now it's all over and after the LONGEST week of my life, I am sure this last stint is going to fly by!!!

Here's the plan:

Going shopping this afternoon with Alice. She leaves on Tuesday but as I'm going away this weekend I won't get a chance to see her again. Lucky she lives closer to home so we can still keep in touch (she's a gorgeous gal, a great friend and I'm really gonna miss her)! Also, hoping to get out and shake my booty tonight (it's been too long).

As I mentioned, going south for 4 days to see my long-lost godfather, Frederic! He's not really long-lost but we haven't seen each other in 15 years so there'll be plenty to talk about! He mentioned maybe even going to the Alps for a day in the snow...very excited!

Then, a few days in Lyon to pack up and sort out stuff (so much stuff!) followed by a week in Deutschland! Flying to Munich (found crazy cheap flights) to catch up with all our friends we made on exchange back at school. I'm hoping to possibly even get to Berlin with Sandra (another dream fulfilled, I'm a very lucky gal).

Finally, just a couple of days back at Lyon before making my way to Paris for a final "adieu" with Mamie (I hope it doesn't get too teary) and the final leg of the trip...home!

So it's all happening, plenty to look forward to and definately keep me busy!

Hope you didn't all die in the heatwave!!!

Love from Alex xoxo

Happy Australia Day!

Hello there!

Happy Australia Day…Wish I had the day off! Instead… Plenty of study. In fact I hid away the whole weekend at Michel et Maryline’s to get away from it all and try to concentrate! Not complaining though, it’s really lovely and calm there. And I get a double bed, a bath and home cooked goodies, so I’m very happy! It’s a nice change of scenery.

Had my first exam this afternoon. Was OK. Another one on Friday and 4 next week, plus a project so there’s plenty to keep me busy.

Otherwise, on Thursday I will be visiting a nuke power plant with JAL! Go nuclear power! I’m really looking forward to it, should be interesting. I wonder if it’s anything like the Simpsons? Also, it’s Alice’s 21^st this week (always a big event).

But tonight I’m gonna relax a bit and celebrate Australia Day. Alice, James and I have organised cheese and vegemite sandwiches (yes we found vegemite in the world culinary aisle in Carrefour!), fairy bread, Milo, JJJ hottest 100 and beer. Here’s the invite we wrote. It was fun to write so I thought I’d share it.

Love from Alex xoxo

G'day shielas and blokes,

Holy Dooley! Fair dinkum, it's that time of year you've been waiting for – Australia Day! And we're ready to have a bonza of a night.

We know exams haven't been a piece of piss, and that we're all as busy as a cat burying shit, but you'd have to be a drongo to not take a break from being flat out like a lizard drinking. Some of you ankle biters have exams, but feel free to swing by, even for a few minutes (just enough time for a coldie or a milo).

So let's give it a burl, cobbers, no worries, she'll be sweet… Make sure you invite all your mates!

Milo, cheese and vegemite sandwiches, fairy bread, Triple J Hottest 100. BYOG. It'll be grouse.

Rock up to mine (Alice's, J021) about 9:30pm, Monday, 26 Jan, we'll have a ripper of a time. It'll be so ozzie ocker, if we had a barbie we'd be throwing shrimps on it! Remember to wear your thongs! It is the lucky country after all.

No bailing! We'll be mad as cut snakes if any of you are bludgers and don't show up!

Hooroo!

From James, Alex and Alice

One month later...

Hi all!

So I'm in my room with Jase & Sian and they pointed out that it's been a while since I last updated. Lots has happened, been very busy but will try to be quick coz it is bed time after all.

Christmas was lovely. I was in London with my uncle Claude & Mamie, staying with Geraldine, my cousin, and her partner. I really loved London. Didn't get to visit much as we were there just a few days over Christmas but we still managed to drag Mamie on the tube to visit Towerbridge, Westminster and Buckingham Palace. Lots of Christmas lights and decorations too and plenty of eating (foie gras, champagne yum yum!). Also managed to get down to Westend to see Chicago. It was fantastic (sorry to those who aren't into musicals...but it was).

So the rest of the holidays I spent in Paris, studying, eating, sleeping AND....visiting with Sian and Jase!!! It's been really nice to have them around, especially as they came packed with Milo and TimTams! It was pretty crazy with tourists, lots of REALLY long queues so we didn't actually visit much but we SAW plenty and they have the photos to prove it. Sacre Coeur, Notre-Dame, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Montparnasse, Versailles...we did it all in below zero, snowing weather. Quite memorable, especially the three way snuggle on New Years Day, where afterwards I left them for dinner only to find out the next day that they never left the bed (that's a 14 hour nap!). After a wholesome lunch with Mamie with foie gras and guinea fowl (apparently the most stupid birds in South Africa) they were off to the Alps in Italy and would later come to visit me in Lyon.

Came back to INSA. Lots of study at the moment as exams are coming up soon. Went snowboarding last weekend. Was a bit of a disaster as I had a bit of a flu and the snow was really icy. Quite a few hard falls on my bottom. I honestly couldn't sit down for the next couple of days and I still have bruises all over my legs. Also had my first assessment last week!!! I don't know many people who would be happy to have an exam but it was Spanish so no pressure. I do hope I did OK though, with a surname like RODRIGUEZ and all.

Big news, I've decided to cut my exchange shorter than originally planned. It's been a great experience but I just miss those summer days too much ;) So I'll be coming home soon, after exams, incase anybody wants to throw a party...you can't get rid of me that easily.

Sian & Jase arrived just this afternoon from Geneva. Staying for a couple of nights. Went up to Fourviere tonight. It was really pretty, as always. Now we're going for another three way snuggle, that's after I do Jason's hair and have a pillow fight with Siany.

OK, good night my dears. Will try to be more disciplined with the updates in future!

Love from Alex xoxo