public service announcement

We are sitting in Mumbai with butterflies in our stomachs because our flight to the US tonight marks the end of the most amazing few months... few years... but at the same time we are thrilled to be heading home at last, and to finally see much missed friends and family.

What about India you ask?

India has been a wild ride but we have loved every bit of it and have tons of photos and stories. The stories are written, but the addition of photos has unto now been thwarted by slow internet speeds. Stick with us a few more days as we sort ourselves out and we'll dazzle you with the things we've seen and done... really, it's been spectacular... before we say our goodbyes.

Georgetown and Kuala Lumpur

After we reluctantly came down from the coolth of the Cameron Highlands, we found ourselves on the ferry to Georgetown, the main city of Penang, an island off the west coast of peninsular Maylasia. Georgetown has a reputation as a culinary and cultural center of Malaysia, and held an important role as a trading center in the past. With Bart and Sabine and notherBelgian friend, Stijn, we made merry at an open air food court where we could sample all different kinds of snacks, and attempted an historical walking tour of the town. A small place, Georgetown seemed most special to me for it's architecture, a hodge-podge of chinese temples, mosques, colonial architecture, rich old merchant mansions, dusty concrete store fronts and apartments, etc.

We had just this short visit in Georgetown to get the flavor of the place before heading back to KL where we planned to have a quick visit around the city before catching our flight to India. Once back in the big city, we were amazed by the efficient public transportation, easily navigating the metro to criss-cross town, going first to the KL tower for it's panaramic views of the city, and then over to a museum and garden complex where we got a good overview of Malaysian history - particularly interesting in light of the great diversity within the country as well as its fast development. Finally, we raced back to the guesthouse to pick up our bags before taking the commuter train out to the suburbs where a family friend of my parents hosted us to a great dinner, interesting discussion, warm showers, and a ride to the airport the next morning.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

From Bali, we flew to Kuala Lumpur, but only spent one night there before catching a bus for the Cameron Highlands, an elevated and cool rainforest area in the center of peninsular Malaysia. There we stayed in Tanah Rata, a little town with fantastic Indian food, cheap rooms, fun hiking trails, and, crucially, cable tv to watch the election results! It was also, I should mention, so cool as to be downright cold at night, a welcome change from the last several months of sweating we'd been doing.

Pierce and Hannah met back up with us in Tanah Rata, and we celebrated Obama's victory along with the manager, the cook, and the driver, all of whom were delighted... at our giddy excitement, if nothing else!

Bart and Sabine, our Belgian friends from Yogyakarta, met up with us as well, and despite the wet weather, we managed to squeeze in some great hikes. There we are with a whole crew from the guesthouse, in the middle of an afternoon of hiking in the rainforest. That night we taught everyone how to play texas hold 'em :)

The next day we headed further up into the hills to check out a tea plantation, racing against both the rain and our afternoon bus to the coast.