Dear Dad,

You are on my mind everyday.

After three weeks in Thailand, we decided it was time to ditch the beaches and head off to Malaysia where the towers are taller, the highlands are higher and the jungles are denser and older than any other. Either that was the reason...or maybe it was Emily and Justin's expired visas. Not quite sure. Either way, we arrived in Kuala Lumpur on the 18th after a flight where only one piece of the airplane fell off during landing:

We consider that an AirAsia success story (especially after the unnecessarily nasty lady today at the Singapore airport...but I digress). Being in Kuala Lumpur was especially exciting for me, as I am a big nerd and have been interested in the Petronas Towers (the tallest twin towers in the world) since high school. I spent the bus ride from the airport staring hopefully out the window waiting for my first glimpse....which turned out to be well worth the trip.


If you haven't seen the movie Entrapment staring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones...I suggest you rent it immediately...you may just become a Petronas-nerd convert like me!

After two days in krazy KL, we decided to hop a bus to the Cameron Highlands which we learned were a refreshing 70 degrees this time of year, and therefore could be uglier and more boring than dirt for all we cared. It was time for a cool-down. Turns out, it's one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. period. Here comes more pictures than necessary!






















Clearly, in the Cameron Highlands I rediscovered my love of tea...both as a piping hot beverage and in plant form. But that's not all I discovered in the extremely under-rated and under-appreciated Malaysia. Take for example my new found love of bizarrely-named canned beverages like: "Poccari Sweat" "100-Plus" and who can forget one of my personal favorites:



None of these liquid delights have any indication of flavor on the can...so every purchase is a surprise. But here is the secret--9 out of 10 times it will taste somewhere in between carbonated gatorade and watered-down fresca.

After our stay in Cameron Highlands where we lodged in what I'm pretty sure were rooms modeled off of Harry Potter's room under the stairs at the Dursleys (anybody? anybody?) we headed by bus and 2 hour boat ride to the heart of Taman Negara - considered the oldest rainforest in the world.



Every day we took a water taxi across the river to hike in the rainforest spotting everything from treacherous plants, stick bugs and wild orchids to flying lemurs and ants the size of my pinky (no joke).

At one point Justin and I went on a wild tapir chase which is much like a wild goose chase except their is a loud grunting sound coming from about 10 meters off the path. Only when we remembered that their are wild tigers in Taman Negara did we decide to ditch the off-roading and return to the path (as if that would do anything to help us).



The other highlight from our time in Taman Negara took place on a 500 meter canopy walk which towered above the forest floor. As Ashlee and I lingered on a platform, re-applying bug spray to combat the mercenary mosquitoes, we noticed a scampering behind us. When we turned around, we saw a Giant Squirrel following us down the walkway. Okay, so you say: big whoop a big squirrel. I say to you:

Google it: Giant Squirrel

We left Malaysia overwhelmed by the how fast it came and left. The people, and I am quoting Ashlee on this one "are AMAAAAAAAAZING," the food is delicious, the views are incredible, and the kickapoo joy juice is always on tap (and by on tap, I clearly mean covered in a layer of dust in a semi-cold fridge at every mini-mart).

Basically if I can offer you a small bit of advice: