ScottandBev's Travel Blog

Chin and the Chalupa - Langkawi, Malaysia

 This place was Amazing visited Mar 5, 2007

We spent 6 great days with Chin on board the 38 foot Chalupa. We had so much fun reconnecting with Chin, and were reminded why he is such a special person to the Pressman family. He had lived with the Pressmans while a foreign student from Malaysia studying at the University of Oregon in the 70's. The table is turned, and he has returned now to Malaysian waters as a US citizen on his sailing voyage around the world. We learned so much from him....he is an experienced Captain and sailing instructor, and we can vouch for his outstanding patience as we did a crash course review. Chin's first big solo offshore adventure in 1980 was sailing solo in his 20 foot boat to Hawaii! He knows his stuff! Chin, thank you...we had an outstanding time!

posted Mar 7, 2007 | Comments (1)

Cultural Experiences - Penang Island, Malaysia

 This place was Amazing visited Feb 25, 2007

I just had to share a few recent cultural experiences we are having in Penang, Malaysia. The majority of Malaysia is Islamic, which is very visible in women's dress (head scarves and conservative dress). Many of their fabrics and colors are very beautiful. You also hear calling/singing out from the mosques througout the day, starting at 6:00 a.m. There is also a strong Buddhist presence with the Chinese, and also Hindu with the Indian population. It has been very interesting to visit the different kinds of temples here, as well as see all of diversity doing well at the moment. The last few days we also had exposure to much more conservative Saudis and their burka-clad wives. Many of them stayed at the same hotel we did at the beach at the other end of Penang Island. They usually stayed within a cluster or by themselves in the restaurants and pool, and I found them very fascinating to watch. I have already mentioned some of my experiences to some of you... Lazing by the pool I just looked like I was a serious reader...I was really spying from behind my sunglasses! The husbands were having a great time swimming,playing in the pools and cooling off. (It is in the 90's with over 90% humidity--icky sticky!)The wives, who all appeared quite young, each sat on the sidelines, sometimes up to an hour or more sweating in the heat. One young wife had obviously had enough, and quietly came to the edge and pulled up her sleeve and dipped her arm in the pool. I could hear her husband's displeasure from the other side of the pool as he chewed her out. After she returned to her chair, he did at least get out and talk to her after a few minutes. I just couldn's resist walking by some of the wives and saying "hi" to the pairs of eyes. Cold response. Just to throw a kink in their opinions of English speaking westerners, I spoke Spanish...that did not soften their response. Even when I tried it with a group of them on the elevator! It was interesting to me to notice that in spite of their strong dislike of western culture, there was a lot of make-up and jeans and tennis shoes under those robes. Let's just say that the Chinese Buddhists here and Malay Islamics certainly are a lot friendlier and cheerful.

posted Feb 26, 2007 | Comments (0)

Southeast Asia Contrasts - Penang Island, Malaysia

 This place was Great visited Feb 23, 2007

Just to show you some of the striking contrasts of Southeast Asia so far. We are in and out of Singapore a few times during our SE Asia destinations, and the contrast between Singapore and other countries is often profound. Beware if you travel to Singapore....illegal to chew gum or spit on the street!! Very modern, high tech, and clean. Malaysia's island city of Penang is really a group of cities on the island, and in addition to it being a strong contrast to Singapore (Malaysia is much more of a developing country)...Penang is full of its own contrasts....Chinese, Indian, and Arab cultures all together. It is 70% Chinese which we think makes it safer for us; everyone has been very friendly. You see all the different religions (Hindu, Buddhism, Christian, Islam), different foods, and different dress. Very interesting!

posted Feb 23, 2007 | Comments (0)

Cheers to Australia! - Australia Plains, Australia

 This place was Amazing visited Feb 21, 2007

Well mates, time for the best and worst of Australia! We have thoroughly enjoyed our month exploring Tasmania, and points in the east, west, north, and crossing the plains. Australia is so HUGE cycling between the major desinations was prohibitive....but we sure enjoyed cycling and exploring each area. The winners of Scott and Bev's Best and Worst of Australia 2007 are... Best City....Perth Worst City...Cook (population 4) Best Surfing.... north of Sydney, Port Stephens Worst Surfing...Darwin, salt water crocs and box jelly fish keep everyone, including surfer dudes, out of the water Best Food...Miss Maud's Swedish Smorgasboard in Perth (Mike Henbest--Swedish waitresses just for you!) Worst Food....third night in a row of Top Ramen noodles Best Biking...1. Perth 2. Darwin-in spite of it including a downpour; the water splashing up on us was bath temp from the hot pavement Worst Biking...Tasmania Windstorm which blew us away! Best Wildlife...(tough one)koalas, wallabies, kangaroos, black swans Worst Wildlife...fast little ants Best Transport...Indian Pacific train across the central plains Sydney to Perth Worst Transport...Europcar rental at Hobart, Tasmania--DO NOT USE THEM!!! We have just arrived in Penang, Malaysia. After a layover and very interesting day exploring Singapore (wow, what creative architecture they have in their big buildings!), we survived an overnight bus from Singapore to Penang. We are being conservative/cautious here in Islamic Malaysia. We will be playing tourist and hanging out at the beach. The heat and humidity is amazing...we feel like two little grease spots. Hard for you in the snow of Idaho to imagine I know. We will meet up with Chin very soon and sail with him from Langkawi Island--we're both looking forward to it! Happy Chinese New Year from Penang, Malaysia!

posted Feb 22, 2007 | Comments (0)

Pedal Perth! - Perth, Australia

 This place was Amazing visited Feb 13, 2007

We arrived in Perth via the Indian Pacific train from Sydney....after 3 1/2 days in four square feet space, we are still talking! Actually, the train ride was a fantastic way to see the outback, which is positively absolutely HUGE! I saw my first camel in the wild....well maybe he was just lost or ran away, since they do use them for trekking. We were able to get off at a couple of towns each day...such as the huge metropolis of Cook, population 4. Mom (aka Rhoda Beryl), in one slightly larger town, we discovered your street and have the photo to prove it. We really like Perth, a bicyclist mecca, with bike paths and route everywhere....to and from the coast, up and down the rivers. We have been having fun being able to safely explore it all. We took a ferry across to Rottnest Island for a couple of days. (originally Rat's Nest...appealing, don't you think?) We camped, cycled and snorkelled. There are no cars allowed and it is a fun and popular family destination. We saw cycles of all kinds (including little guys on training wheels)as folks rode from beach to beach. Our camping neighbor was an inspirational fellow. (or downright intimidating?) He was preparing for his 11th Rottnest Channel swim tomorrow...a mere 20 km. That's over 12 miles of Indian Ocean, no wetsuits allowed! To make it worse...he is 60, and is one of only 100 of the 3000 entrants that do not do teams of swimmers, but prefers to swim the entire distance alone. We also met yet another little wild marsupial, the quakka, which is only found on Rottnest Island. It looks like a cross between a rabbit and a rat, and one was determined to get in our tent for awhile. We convinced him he was not a welcomed guest. Some friends/family have asked about our travel pace. Actually we have a lot of hang-out time doing a lot of reading and Sudoku. We have gotten good at finding used bookstores. I'm sure my book club probably would not want to discuss much we're reading...beach books! There's even time for local culture back here in Perth for a couple of days; an outdoor opera and a huge art festival. From Perth we will fly to Darwin...north Australia...briefly. Then on to Malaysia where we will meet and sail with Chin. We are very excited about seeing him and getting some sailing experience with him...he is a terrific sailor! He taught Scott everything Scott knows about sailing....more is obviously needed!!

posted Feb 15, 2007 | Comments (0)