Thailand and Malaysia

On February 1 the OnSite students doing their internships in Asia got together for our Extended Learning Experience on the island of Phuket, Thailand. There were 6 of us in total, and we had alot of fun!

Us at a night market.

It was great to see everyone again, talk about our experiences in our countries so far, and just hang out! We did a couple fun things like going to a small island and hanging out on the beach, went and saw a movie, explored around Phuket and ate some great food.

Boats at the beach on Coral Island.

Me and the cricket I ate for dinner. Mmm Tasty.

On the 6 I was supposed to head to another area of Thailand with my friend who is working there, but because of the abscess on my leg I had to be near a hospital and go there daily, so we ended up staying until the 11th. I found a little puddle-jumper flight that goes straight from Phuket to Penang (my next destination) which was great because then I didn't have to get a connecting flight in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpor.

So after that rickety flight I landed on the island of Penang, Malaysia. The main reason I went here was to get a new visa for Indonesia, originally I was supposed to arrive on the 13, but I came 2 days early. The first 3 nights I stayed at the guest house at Dalat International School, where my mentor's daughter goes to school, so I also got to hang out with her a bit which was fun. The next 3 days I stayed in a hotel close to school and made my trips to the Indonesian Consulate.

A view of Penang

But, turns out theres certain times you have to apply for a visa, but they don't tell you those times until you're in line. So, because of that, and even though I begged, I ended up having to stay an extra night in Penang, which meant finding a new hotel to stay at, which was an adventure because almost every one I asked was already booked or ridiculously expensive, I had to buy completely new flight tickets as well. On top of all that I had issues because apparently banks in Malaysia don't like my visa or debit card, so getting money was a bit of an issue. But, Penang is a really neat place! I hope I can make another trip there sometime.

Sunset from my hotel balcony.

I arrived back in Bali on the night of the 18th, and I had the urge to kiss the ground because I was so happy to be back, but I didn't; Bali's ground is kinda gross. Since then I have been getting back to work, preparing to move to a new house, and taking care of my leg, which is almost healed! (But, I may or may not have broken my foot when I dropped my 25kg suitcase on it in the airport. Time will tell)