Long Trip South Pt 1 of 3

Just got back from a long trip. I Ubon late April and arrived back in Ubon a couple days ago.


1st Leg of the trip



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Ubon-->Phuket-->Hat Yai-->Penang (Malaysia)-->Kuala Lumpur


Phuket:
The bus was about a 22 hour ride, but it was a super nice bus, and I do love riding on long comfy bus trips. I had the front seat on the second floor so I saw everything. I got a guest house room in Phuket Town so I would be able to visit several beaches cheaply and easily. 


And I did. Here are pictures from around the island.

When I saw that island in this picture I thought Sean should be here so he can swim to it.

I also went scuba diving which was pretty AMAZING. All the wildlife and colors. There's like a whole other world down there! There was even this little bright blue fish that would constantly rub itself against my legs cleaning itself. And I saw a sea turtle! And clownfish! And yeah. But my camera doesn't go under water so here are some amazing above ground pictures.

And then there was this picture, which does not do the experience justice:

On the mountain in the middle of Phuket.


Hat Yai:
I wanted a direct bus from Phuket to Penang, Malaysia, but instead I got a transfer at Hat Yai, one of the biggest cities in Thailand. I walked around with my extra hours and took a few pictures.

 Very Muslim area of Thailand.

Tuk tuks change so much in Thailand from place to place.

 Yes, those yolks are...red.

For anyone keeping score, that's Thai, English, Chinese, and Arabic. Wow.

Penang:
Got here and really didn't expect much. The food was amazing, the India town was amazing. The old religious buildings were amazing too. A few good pictures.

 For wudhu. Ritual washing before Muslim prayer.

 I thought this was...interesting.

I went up Penang Hill by cable car. It took half an hour. I think they need some help with the meaning of the English word "hill."

At the top:

 There's a city down there...somewhere.


Kuala Lumpur (KL):

 Chinatown

  This is a...peeing terrace?

 Cranes are a sign of robust present and future economic growth. I'm not sure how long it's been since I saw this many cranes on one skyline.

 This is the garb I needed to wear in order to enter the national mosque with shorts on.

 Friday school.

 The Petronis Towers are really stunning, and no picture does them justice for how awesome they are in architectural beauty or as an architectural feat.

 Doesn't that look tasty?

 We were lucky enough to see some sort of LARGE Buddhist holiday parade. Here are my favorite pictures from it.

 The previous picture's float was so massive that it took the following picture's battery to power it.

 In KL Tower.

KL was great. And the trip was great. And there's still more! Part 2 with pictures is coming!