April 1st I departed on my first overseas trip, to Malaysia. The itinerary for my trip was ten days, and a total of 50 hours flying. Malaysia Airlines made us keep the shades drawn, so others could sleep or watch the movies. 10 hours into the flight I looked out a small window in the back of the plane, and was surprised to see daylight, and also surprised to see that we were flying over Japan. The first stop was a refuelling in Taipei. The second, was Kuala Lumpur. It was incredibly hot and humid, even though it was 10pm. Being early morning at home, I was wide awake and very hungry, but my tour organizers insisted the group needed to get to the hotel and sleep. I went on a city tour the first day, seeing the tallest twin towers in the world, a street market selling almost anything, and, being a Friday, a whole lot of traffic, as many Malaysians made their way to the mosque to pray.

This is the tour group I travelled to Malaysia with, in Kuala Lumpur.

This was one of the first sights I saw in Kuala Lumpur...the tallest twin towers in the world.

Next stop was Perth, Australia. I flew overnight to Perth and arrived just in time for a full day of sightseeing. I toured the Margaret River wine region, tasting some of their finest wines, and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Western Australia is mainly desert, but there is a beautiful, lush green coast along the Indian Ocean. I saw my very first kangaroos, and was disappointed at how lazy they were. I have a few pictures of ears poking up from the grass, and only one of a kangaroo standing. There were even kangaroos at the airport. Perth was very warm, and people there are very friendly.

This is at the Perth Airport. If you look closely, you might see a lazy kangaroo!

This is me at a park in Perth.

I flew back to Malaysia on Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 in business class. That was an amazing flight. Each seat had it's own individual fold out tv. I watched Seinfeld, and played Nintendo for 4 hours. I flew to Malaysian Borneo, to the city of Kuching, meaning Cat City. My tour took me to an interesting street market, where I purchased my 9 Ringgit Poncho, and someone in the group bought a 2 year old bottle of pop. I visited an orang-utan rehabilitation centre. During feeding, there were orang-utans stopping by for some fruit, and there were also cages for new arrivals, including a mother and her new baby.

Statue in the centre of town, Kuching, Malaysia.

I stayed at the Hilton Longhouse Hotel, which is on a small island in the middle of a man made lake. It appeared as though the lake was recently built, as there were many dead tree tops sticking out of the water in some parts. The hotel was incredible. Entirely wooden, and built to imitate a real longhouse of local tribes. The hotel lobby was amazing, and we were greeted with a nice cold cocktail. The hotel was in a beautiful location, and sunsets were excellent. My group took a trip to visit a local Iban Village, which is probably one of the most unusual experiences of my life. We were greeted with traditional dancing, and were served a traditional Iban meal, consisting of rice cooked in bamboo, ferns, chicken, and rice wine in bamboo cups. Post-meal entertainment was a live cock fight, and a peek at the villages' collection of skulls, as they are headhunters...seriously.

Deluxe transportation from the Hilton Longhouse to Iban Village. The boats were so narrow, I was surprised none of us ended up soaked.

The two men in the ceremonial attire were blessing our meal by shaking a live chicken over it. As they were prestigious members of the tribe, they drank from the special plastic cups with the duck and frog on them. Children's cups, most likely donated by a visitor. Our group brought pencils and books.

Their collection of skulls, which they were very proud of.

I flew home on April 10, amazed that I could have experienced so much in such a short amount of time. I didn't sleep on the flight home, altogether 20 hours long, but made up for it when I returned home. Definitely the most culturally educational trips I have ever taken. Mike and Phil met me at the airport, and we went out for lunch to White Spot, along with Ed.