Who knew you could find internet in the rainforest?? I'm currently writing from a computer inside a villager's home, across the river from our hostel. The family has set up quite a nice internet business catering to tourists, like yours truly.

Taman Negara has been absolutely breathtaking. We arrived on Sunday after a very long day of travel. On the final leg of the trip - surprise, surprise - got caught in a massive rainstorm whilst in our boats! Rain in the rainforest is crazy! Luckily the men who operate the boat seemed unconcerned and provided us (well, some of us!) with ponchos so we were able to cover ourselves and our bags up. Still, all were quite drenched by the time we got settled in.

Yesterday was our first full day here, and it was incredible! We began with a morning hike to the canapy walkway. You climb up this watchtower and then walk along this rickety netted path across the tops of the trees! Poor Dan is afraid of heights so it was a bit difficult for him, but I had a blast. The walkway is basically metal ladders linked together with plywood planks nailed on top. Then there's netting and a rope handrailing on both sices. You drift back and forth quite a bit while you walk along so I could see how someone might get nervous. I, however, found it exhilerating.

After the canapy walk we did a 45 minute uphill hike to get to the best vista in our section of the park. By the end of the hike I was not only exhausted, but I also looked like I had just walked out of the shower, I was that drenched in sweat. There was an unbeatable view from the top, though! At some points on the hike, the path was so steep you had to pull yourself up by clinging to a rope. Very cool, but very exhausting! Once we got to the top we could see the river below and the green hills of tropical plants everywhere.

After making our way back to the camp, we went to a swimming hole/waterfall area about 45 minutes away by boat. I think the boat trip was my favorite part of the expedition (though I loved the swimming as well) because we got to see so much. The roots on the trees here look like giant octopuses. There are birds everywhere, and crazy looking plants dot the waterline. Once we arrived we went on a short hike to reach the waterfalls and dove in. It felt amazing after such a long morning!

After dinner, we all went on a night hike with a guide to see all the nocturnal animals and insects in the forest. It's a good thing we didn't do the walk the first night we were here because thoughts of those massive insects would have creeped me out during our hikes! The spiders here are at least the size of an adult hand. We saw a bat, some snakes, scorpians, stick insects, tons of massive grasshoppers, and some really cute birds who didn't seem to mind at all when we shined the flashlight in their faces. Our guide, Bogo, told us lots of interesting trivia about the jungle and identified some of the major sounds which was really cool. The level of noise is unbelievable. My favorite part was just ignoring the rest of the group and getting lost in the sounds of it all.

Today we are going to go visit the Orang Asli, or indigenous peoples of Malaysia. I'm prepared to be depressed about it though because their way of life is increasingly going the way of the dinosaur. They resettle in the jungle every year so Prof Heng isn't sure how long our boat ride will be or if we'll have to hike to get to them. In any case, it should be quite an adventure.

More when I get back to KL! Am still in awe of being online in the rainforest....

It's been a long week, but it's gone by fast!

This last week of class has been hectic, but wonderful. The highlights included speaking with a commissioner on the Human Rights commission, hearing from 2 human rights NGOs (totally incredible), and talking with a head honcho from UMNO (the majority and ruling party) and one from PAS (the Islamic party - very interesting).

Today we spent the day in Melacca, the major port city on the Straits of Melacca. Due to Prof Heng's connections we got to tour and have lunch in the home of Cheng Lock Tan, creater of the MCA (Malaysian Chinese Association) and partly responsible for Malaysian independence. The traditional Nonya food was delicious. The house itself is a historic relic, containing 3 courtyards and traditional chinese furniture.

Tomorrow we are getting on a bus for 4 hours, then a boat for 2.5 hrs to reach the rainforest or Taman Negara. We'll be back Wed, so hopefully I can update you all then. Sorry this last week has been so poorly reported! I'll try my best to be better and write a ton when I return to KL for good on Sunday. Then I'll have three days to see any remaining sites, buy gifts, and reflect upon my experiences.

Stay tuned!

Mosque in Putrajaya

Me at the Chinese Temple

The Batu Caves

One amazing weekend

This past weekend was amazing and crazy. I honestly can't remember what I did on Friday for some reason, so I'm just going to continue on before this internet connection I'm stealing from my neighbor dies.

Saturday, a van came to Villa Puteri and took us to all the big sites around KL. We began at the Pewter factory called Royal Selangor. Malaysia was the world's largest producer of tin until the 1970s. We toured the factory and learned that everything continues to be hand-made by artisans. There are no machines to do any of the work.

After Royal Selangor we went to my favorite place of the day, the Batu Caves, a giant Hindu shrine embedded in a mountain. You have to climb 270 very steep steps to get to the top and there is a huge golden Hindu god watching over it. There were also a plethora of monkeys everywhere which was really interesting. They seem like cute furry things, but are really satan's little helpers. I saw one attack this lady for her Coca Cola. I stayed clear and admired them from afar. While I was there I was also blessed by a Hindu priest and got the telltale red and white dots placed on my forehead. Very cool. That, plus the fact that I've been blessed by the Pope should cover me for awhile. Also, if you climb to the top, supposedly all your sins are forgiven. My soul is squeeky clean! :-)

After the Batu Caves we visited the biggest Chinese Temple in KL. There just so happened to be tons of married couples there waiting for registration so it was really cool to see them all dressed up. It's a very peaceful place with candles and incense everywhere. I donated 1 ringgit and got my fortune which was very good:
"Be cheerful, your fortune is changing for the better. From the 8th moon to the 12th moon all will gradually turn propitious to your advantage.
Financial pursuit: Very hopeful
Honor and Merit: Success within grasp
Matrimony: Will tie the knot
Change of Abode or Travel: Good

I thought that was all very promising!

We ended the day at Putrajaya, the government's administrative center about 30-40 minutes outside of KL. The Mosque there is unbelievably beautiful, but sincer none of us were muslim we couldn't enter. Just to walk around the outside we had to put on these pink choir robes with hoods. Very interesting.

That evening we met up with 2 young Malaysians, Kai and Kenny, for dinner and drinks afterwards. Despite being a developing country, Malaysia is very progressive and cosmopolitan. It was interesting to realize that Malaysian youth are just like American youth (well, the non-Muslim malaysians anyway). BTW: I saw a giant poster ad for Harry Potter 5 while we were out. Very cool.

Oh, I just remembered what we did on Friday - We met with Vince Leuson, president of AMCHAM the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and afterwards he took us to Outback Steakhouse for "American food and beer." It was very generous of him!

Today we went to see the Sisters in Islam NGO that fights for women's rights using the Koran and Islamic teachings. They are part of the reason I even did this course and the campaigns they fight are so important and amazing. More on them another time b/c this entry is getting very long and I'm very worried about this internet thing.

More soon (I hope). Much love to all.

P.S. Seem to be getting a head cold. Please send me all of your feel-good healthy karma so I can be ok before we head to the rainforest on Sunday!