MALAYSIA

fun facts:
i bought an umbrella hat :)
we got to tender to and from the ship (ride in the life boats because we were anchored not docked)
I held a baby turtle


DAY1- City Tour


Day one in malaysia, I took a city orientation tour. It was the most unique tour I have taken because we rode around in the carriage being pulled by bicyclists. The first stop was the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. ( http://www.pinangperanakanmansion.com.my/ ). It is now a museum, of what a typical house of a baba would look like. It was full of many beautiful architects and furniture.

One of my favorite parts of the museum was seeing the shoes that the women wold were, they were the size of a shields foot from binding their feet. The other really interesting thing was that under the bed on the night of marriage the put a male and a female rooster in a cage and whichever one got out first was supposedly the gender of the first child.
The museum tour ended at a small coffee shop selling kopi luwak coffee. it is one of the worlds most expensive coffees. it is made by from the beans of coffee berries which are eaten and digested by asian civets (cats). It is then collected from the feces, cleaned and roasted. I did not try it but apparently it is a lot less bitter and has a slightly chocolate taste.

The next stop was a Buddhist temple, where we burned incense and watched people take part in their daily rituals. The cool thing about this stop was that this temple was on the same street as worshipping places for two other religions.

our last stop was another museum, this time showing more about the culture and history of malaysia.

DAY 2- Malaysia National Park

This day is by far one of my favorites. As a group of students and professors we went to the national park and endeavored on a hike to a turtle sanctuary. it was a more physically challenging hike than anyone expected but it was so much fun just exploring the nature. Throughout the hike our guide pointed to entire ant colonies moving, tree species, monkey spit, and plants we could eat.

When we finally made it to the beach we went to a turtle sanctuary where they rescue baby sea turtles that hatch on the beach and help release them into the wild, safe from predators. We got lucky and arrived on a batch of 1day old baby sea turtles. they were so cute and fit right in the palm of my hand! There was even a small museum to learn all about the life and dangers of sea turtles. I loved this day because i have a slight obsession with turtles. as a part of Delta Zeta Sorority, our philanthropy is for the deaf an hard of hearing. our mascot is the turtle because the have no ears. Thus where the obsession stems from.

We then endeavored on our way back. (at this point, no one had any drinking water left!) but we made it safely and my friend and i found a nice spot to relax and have some fun on swings :)

DAY 3-

On the Third day i visited local village. they fed us a breakfast of rice and sardines!














We then ventured to the forest of trees that the tap for rubber. they even let us try it!

The cool thing about this village was all of the businesses. we went to a business that produced a chip like product, we got to make them and it really showed us how women can take charge, run a business and make profit. We also went to a factory that produced baked goods. I was shocked to see that all of the workers genuinely enjoyed their job.

We ended our day eating and spending time with the locals. they were so welcoming they wanted us to try everything, including drumming, palm tree climbing, coconut eating/drinking and even their special cosmetics to prevent acne!