Koh Lanta, 11/28/2012

After a short stint in the Cameron Highlands, I am back in Koh Lanta for 4 weeks of Muay Thai before heading to Melbourne.  Training has started well.  Getting into the two-a-days is going to take a little time.  I am starting slowly this week and planning to ramp up.
I have always wanted to fight in Thailand, one of my goals is to do one or more professional level fights before I can not compete anymore.  But at the same time I have always been a little nervous to step in the ring with someone who has been boxing since they were 6. Every time in Thailand before I had a reason not to box.  Going straight backto work or more travel was usually enough to convince me that I shouldnt fight.  Wouldnt want to be injured back at work.  Or not be able to enjoy the rest of my trip.
But this time it appears that my trainers have found my weakness.  Instead of asking if I want to fight, as they did on day one, yesterday they simply asked, "when are you going to fight?".  Since it was a different question, I had to give a different answer.  So know I am looking to set a fight for the last weekend that I will be training, I think the 23rd of December.  A nice pre-xmas bash.  Now I have something to focus on and will not really be able to skip on training days.  I wanted to get back into fighting shape for my arrival in Melbourne, I cant really see a better way than this.
Still a little nervous though, and I think I am going to have to ride my bike like 20k a day or two after the match to get to the Krabi bus station.  So I really hope that I dont have to do that with a broken foot.  then there is also the tough mudder Jan 14th.  But I think its more in my head than anything else.  Who knows, maybe I can finally get my nose straightened out.
Other than training I have not been up to much since arriving in Koh Lanta.  I am trying to work through the online Melbouren Uni website, but so far have been thwarted at every turn.  The website is not compatible with my tablet so I can only log in from the internet cafe.  I had trouble with my login so they gave me an email address to contact to sort the problem.  Email was returned as an invalid address.  Going to head back and try again today.
The other good thing I have found a good tree for my hammock not far from where I am staying.  I am trying to make a point to get to the beach at least every other day for a swim and some hammock reading time while still on a beautiful tropical beach.  Melbourne will be nice, but I dont think the water is going to be quite the same from what I remember on my last trip through.
Brief sidenote, fucking flies are eating my ankles, why cant the hair that protects the rest of my legs cover my feet.  I would gladly trade the freakishness of super hairy feet to relief this itchy. anyway...
Finally I think I am set to do a triathlon in Melbourne in either late march or early april.  Both pretty short courses overall, 500-800m swim, 20-26k bike, 5-8k run.  I think they would both be ideal ways to start working toward the more grueling olympic distance of 2k swim, 60 or 80k bike, and 20k run.  might need some time to work up to that.  At least my boxing cardio should be through the roof.

Cameron Highlands, 11/23/2012

The last couple of days have been spent in the Cameron Highlands. A highland area east of Penang.  It is a complete change from the coastal areas that I have been traveling through up to this point.  It is cool, incredibly wet, and mountainous.  Much more like Northern Vietnam than anywhere recent.  The rains come on the regular in the early afternoon and tend to wrap up by 5.  But once you figure that out and prepare it is a welcome chnage from the humid heat of the coast.   The area is littered with strawberry farms and the fresh produce is amazing.  So much to choose from, all so fresh and good.  Excellent dried mango as well.
Yesterday, we hiked through the jungle to one of the highest points in the area.  The view was in constant flux.  The clouds would roll in and out so quickly a vista would reveal itself and instantly disappear.  On one bluff we stared out into the mist wondering how far the drop was, how far the view was if unobstructed.  As the mist cleared the view was for miles clear and a massive drop off the cliff.  Near the top of the trail is the mossy forest.  An old growth forest with a slightly raised walkway through the trees.  After the hike we went down the hill through a massive tea plantation and on to a bee farm.  Quite a bit of hiking but the landscape was beautiful.
Today we went to see the Rafflesia "flowers".  Billed as the largest flower in the world.  As I learned today, they are not a flower, but a fungus.  And as a fungus, they are not the largest.  But still, quite impressive.  Also because it is not a flower it does not need sunlight to bloom and therefore a can "bloom" on the forest floor.  They are massive.  Almost a meter across and the center section larger than a basketball.  To attract insects they have as slight odor of rotting meat.  It wasnt very strong, but it wasnt pleasant either.  A fair amount of flies can attest to the accuracy of the small.  As I learned today, they only bloom for about 7-10 at a time.  Guides walk through the forest marking the bulbs so they can track which flowers will be in bloom and when.  Today there were two flowers in full bloom.  And a variety of bulbs from golf ball to soft ball size.
The flower blooms kind of like a cabbage.  Leaves wrap around in a ball and slowly expand over 9 months.  Eventually it falls open revealing a large central cavity with a spiky pistil like center.
the hike also included a lot of wonderful flowers and insects that were around every turn.  After the hike we had a brief blowgun demonstration and target practice.  I was the only person able to bullseye the target.  So if school doesnt work out I might have a career chance in the monkey hunting business.
Tomorrow is the bus to Butterworth and time to head back to Thailand for a month of boxing camp.  Then time for Australia.  

Aroung Georgetown. 11/15-11/20

This last week has been really busy.  Jayci and Kristin both flew in on the 15th.  Pablo and Manuel (not sure how to spell his name) arrived by bus the same day.  With a group there is a lot more time spent thinking about what to do, but a lot less actual doing.  Still it  is nice to have people to travel with for a while to break the solo adventure.
The Penang butterfly farm was really cool.  There are thousands of butterflies flying about in the enclosure.  Had to try really hard not swat at things flying into my face or landing on the back of my neck.  But once over that feeling it was a beautiful place.  On the way out they have several small reptile and insect exhibits and a large collection of mounted butterflies for purchase (I got a small one).
Just outside of Georgetown in Air Itam is one of the largest buddhist monestaries or temples in south-asia or Malaysia (not sure which).  It is a massive site with a giant stature of Guan Yin.  Even here the Chinese are everywhere.  All the obligatory buddhist things are there.  Turtle pond.  Pagoda.  Dozens of alters with golden statues.  But it still had a few things to make it different from the stock temples you see in most places.  Along with the snake temple there are some nice sites around Penang.
11/20 marked the opening of the second annual battle of the food hawkers, curry mee challenge.  The opening round is open to the public to try the various curries and vote for a favorite to narrow the crowd down to the top three.  During the week there are a variety of foods prepared and at the end of the week the best of the best battle for a cash prize.  11 curry stalls each handing out a decend size portion made it impossible for us to eat through all the stalls.  I think I made it through 5 or 6, but the last two was a tasting bite only.  They really should limit the portions if they want everyone to be able to try all the different stalls.  Pablo may have made it through a few more, Jayci only made it through 3 or 4. All in all I dont think our votes were very well informed, but oh well.  It made for a great lunch.
Jayci flew out this morning (11/21) and I will be heading inland to the Cameron Highlands for a coule days with Pablo, Kristin and Manuel before making my way back to Koh Lanta for my month of boxing...

Penang International Bridge Marathon, 11/18/2012

The Penang Bridge International Marathong (for me the half-marathon) was my second event that I have taken part in.  It was a pretty big affair and much better coordinated than the event in China.
The marathon started at 2am, the half at 3 and the 10k at 6 and 7.  Despite the odd times, it felt pretty good and was the only way to beat the heat.  I was concerned that running at 3am would throw me off, but it didnt really seem to have a noticeable affect.  My official time for the race was 1:46.28.  4 minutes slower than my first.  However, I stopped to stretch for a minute and also suffered a rough abdominal crap that forced me to slow down and walk through a water station or two.  On top of that when I finished I felt much better.  My calfs was strained, but am already to be up and running on it, as long as I take it easy.  All in all a vast improvement over my original performance.  Also to my surprise, I placed 59 out of 5,705.
The race itself was a hugge event.  There must have been something like 15-20,000 people either running or coming in for support.  It was nice to see how a proper event can be managed and makes me look forward to taking part in more in the future.  Maybe a tri once I land in Australia.  But first the Melbourne, Philips island Tough Mudder in January.  I am looking forward to that race. A few people I have met while traveling who have done them in the past have all had good things to say.
After the race, and a nap, and a large lunch.  Jayci and I headed out to the national park.  Originally the ideas was to hike through the park to a beach on the west side of the island.  But pre-race planning may have been a little overly ambitious.  We decided to take  the boat instead.  On the beach I was finally able to try out my new hammock.  It is fantastic. Although it did ruin the plan of walking around looking at things.  Once we were able to settle into the position I dont think we moved for an hour or two.  After sunset and the boat ride back, the early race and lack of sleep finally caught up and it was time to crash for a solid 10-hour recovery sleep.
2 half-marathons down.  102 and 106 minutes. If I can find a proper support for my calf, I think I could push for a 90 min time.  Time to start checking the race calendar for AU.  Plus racing should help a lot with my cardio for getting back into the ring.

And its official...

This morning I got the email from the University of Melbourne with my acceptance to the Graduate Diploma program in Psychology.  So it looks like I will be spending the next year in Melbourne.  From what I have seen looking around, after that year I am going to be piss broke and move back to the cheap paradise that is South (east) Asia.

Georgetown, 11/13/2012

Georgetown is the main city area on Penang Island.  It is a pretty cool place.  The cultural mix provides a wonderful blend of food, architecture, and visuals.  Areas are as developed and first world as any place I have been.  The malls look like they could be anywhere in the US, except for somes of the brands.  Today there was line out the door and around the corner for Starbucks.  Something I can not understand given that there was another only a couple hundred meters away and a Coffee Bean around the corner.  But regardless, Starbucks is live and well here.  I had lunch at TGI Fridays and bought a new pair of running shoes at the Nike outlet and paid a US price for them.
Yet earlier today I was at the snake temple.  So named because of the resident pit vipers that reside in the trees in the court yard.  Highly poisoness, although I dont think fatal, there are a lot of them on the property.  There several stories as to why they are there, but now its seems more like tourist draw than anything else.  There was also speculation as to whether they are still venomed or not.  I dont think thats a verb but it is now.  I would like to think so, makes it more fun. The whole time I think I only saw one more, it was the more display one inside, not in the trees in the courtyard.  It was nice to see a temple with something different.  Also the temples here are mostly pretty small and still in daily use, unlike most of the temples I visited in China.
In Cambodia it was hard to tell if the temples were in real use or not.  They were all pretty busy, but most people seemed to be there paying respects to the recently deceased king.  So I am not sure if that is what normal turnout would be like or not.  In Thailand there are many monks in the temples/wats/etc but not a lot of regular foot traffic coming through.  And I am not sure how many of the monks want to be there or are there for education and a bed.
I need to find something to do tomorrow, I am trying to leave some things to do with the group when they arrive.  So its time to search for the more obscure things to do in Penang.  Flea market anyone?

Fucking Florida Cranberry Juice, Penang, 11/12/2012

Penang for the most part has been great.  The food is amazing.  The city has found a way to belnd Malay, Chinese and Indian culture with a little of the old European influence left over from when it was first settled by the British way back.
Last night I went to see a movie and before hand walked through the Carefour looking for snacks.  They had cranberry juice.  I havent seen cranberry juice in months and although a bit pricey I had to have some.  Immediately after purchasing I headed back toward the theatre and cracked open my new bottle of juice.  So excited I took a giant swig on the escalator and damn near spit it all over the person in front of me.  I do not see how anyone could call that beverage cranberry juice.  To achieve that flavor the only thing I could think of was robotussin cut with grenadine.  It was syruppy, sickly sweet, warm (which only made things worse), and only suitable for mixing in small amounts with vodka.  It has been the only downside so far to my time in Penang.  I should have realized that cranberry juice does not come from Florida, thats oranges, but after a while when you see something you miss one can overlook those things. Anyway, at least the movie was decent.
Otherwise Penang is pretty cool.  Although, you have to get away from the city it would appear for the beaches to be any good.  Tomorrow is Dwali, an Indian festial, and a lot of services might be closed for the day so I might rent a motorbike and head to the national park which is supposed to have some of the nicer beaches on the island.  Yesterday I did my last long run before the race.  I felt really good, but now my legs are really worn.  I think I did about 13-14k.  Today I just want to run enough to get warm and stretch.
Dwali tomorrow, friends arriving in 3 days, race in 5 and and interview with the residence hall tomorrow.  Its nice to have a few, but not many things to do.