Meanwhile, Back In America

Aya and I got a chance to back to the US this summer and it will have been two years since we were there last. This time around was a little bit different. Somewhat because we didn't have too much time and somewhat because we were taking a side trip to see old friends, but mostly because Aya would meet my dad's side of the family.
She had met a few of them before as they had come to Sturgeon Bay to see us, but this would be an opportunity to stay with my dad at his home, visit my grandmother at her home, and to meet a few more of the Hurley side. In order to do this we flew into Minneapolis airport, then rented a car to drive back east to Bruce, WI. The drive was nice, but Aya got her first taste of northern Wisconsin when we were approaching Bruce. DEER! Everywhere there were deer. We must have seen 8 separately within 30 minutes. When Aya asked if there were other large animals I said no, then uh... yes. Bears, wolves perhaps, but lots and lots of deer.
We did a lot of fun stuff while we were there like going to The Miner theater in Bruce  to see Planet of the Apes, visiting a historical village, but generally just getting to hang out. I even had time to brew a batch of beer with my dad and I got to meet my step brother and sister AND their kids for the first time. Overall it was a good trip and we kind of wished we had more time with them, but hopefully next summer we will be back.
From there we moved on to Washington DC and eventually back to Sturgeon Bay spending our last days having squirt gun fights with my nephews, watching their soccer games, and playing tetris with all the stuff we were trying to get into our luggage. Its odd to see my brother's kids getting bigger all the time and it makes me a little bit sad too because I would like to be a bigger part of their lives. The boys certainly could use more people around to be role models and I'm sure my mom and brother could use some extra relief. Yet here I am, taking off again to a new post half a world away.
I'm excited to get to Beijing, mostly because of the great job that I have waiting but also because of being back in China. Love it or hate it, there is something about China that makes it an adventure. So now I will take the first step out the door and start a new one.

The Hurleys Go to Washington

Going to Washington to see our friends Brian and Cindy, who we hadn’t seen since our last day in Japan 4 years ago, was one of our top priorities when visiting America this summer. Unfortunately our timing was very good and we didn’t get to see them except for the last day we were there. However, I did get to see a couple of my NEH institute buddies from a few years ago, Lance and Jessica. The last time I was in DC was almost 7 years ago when I took a school trip there with my class of 8^th graders. It was fun to recall that trip, those kids are graduating university now!

It was also great to bring Aya to DC. Aya likes to say that she hasn’t seen much of America, though I don’t know why since prior to this trip she had been to my family’s home in Wisconsin, Chicago, Portland, and Hawaii. That is a lot more of the country than most Americans have seen. Putting DC in her pocket though gives her enough breadth to say that she has seen “coast to coast”.

Though Aya had to work some of the days we were there we still got a chance to go by the white house, do a tour of the capitol building, see the holocaust museum, the crime and punishment museum, the Vietnam memorial, the Lincoln memorial, and take in a show at the E Street Cinema. In addition we went to a number of different restaurants to try to get a taste of what was around.

Overall I think Aya was impressed with the variety of people and what they brought to DC. I too felt like it was a very diverse city and my friend Brian pointed out that it is a very young city as well which gives it an energetic feel. Definitely DC is a place we may come back to. If history is any judge, I certainly will

The End of One Chapter

My time in Malaysia is coming to a close. Just one more day before we travel home to see my family and then on to Beijing. One more day to stay at the E&O hotel, and to see my dearest friend here one more time.

On a hot humid day 2 years ago I touched down at Penang airport. The airport was under renovation at the time, but I didn't know that. All I thought was that the airport looked really crappy with all the dust and tarps all over. Immigration was packed and took forever to get through. Oh, it was SO hot. Our head of secondary was waiting for us and he was nice enough, but on the drive to Batu Ferringhi we had to make our way through some harrowing traffic and he even admitted that sometimes he got lost because the streets were a nonsensical maze. After we were dropped at our hotel I had one thing on my mind, dinner and a beer. I ate expensive veggie soup and a very expensive bottle of Tiger beer before turning in. The next morning I was so scared to run next to traffic that I just ran loops around the hotel's floors sweating sheets. So started my journey here.
Two years later we are on the way out. Most of those impressions have changed. I still think beer is expensive which led me to home brewing for the first time. I still think traffic is harrowing, but now that I have sold my car I can enjoy the scenery a bit more rather than dodging mokeys/dogs/motorbikes/pedestrians/other cars. It is still damned hot!
Malaysia may be a place I often shake my head at, but it is endearing in a lot of ways too. A Muslim country that will arrest people over satirical videos, but then will allow a Porky's restaurant to open in a popular shopping mall. A place where three + distinct cultures interact with more or less tolerance, more or less. A place where rotten smelling fish is the local delicacy. Where 25C is cold weather. Where police don't seem to exist, yet order more or less does, more or less. Batu Ferringhi became my home and though the first year was difficult I came to appreciate the students I had. They truly are top notch and I was lucky to have such motivated individuals. Having students who are willing and driven to learn makes teaching a rewarding experience. More than that I learned about their lives and varying circumstances and got to know some unique individuals that I won't soon forget.

Each time I take a step in a new direction I wonder if I am doing the right thing. Many people I talk to share similar conversations with me, they are like minded traveling/teaching individuals. I think we all realize how lucky we are to have such great jobs, and lucky lucky lives. Leaving Penang I can say that I am once again lucky. 2 years wiser in my career, much richer in my friends, and about 10lbs heavier from all the good food here! Thank you Penang. 

Chin Farm to Forest Reserve

For most of my time in Batu Ferringhi I have been running the aquaduct path by Uplands school in Batu Ferringhi. It offers 6-7km of wide paved path and it connects to a number of hiking trails. Usually I run along the road through Batu Ferringhi to the parking lot across from the Bayview Hotel and from there a dirt track for about 2km to the end of the aqueduct. If you head this way follow the gravel road that heads into the jungle just across from the Bayview Hotel. There is a small parking lot at the start if you drive there. Once on the gravel path you will soon reach a fork. Head right, there is a small shrine at the junction. The path then starts to go up hill and you will see a red and white striped bar gate. Go through. Shortly you will reach a water tower and and then just after that a green fence. Keep on this dirt trail and shortly you will reach the dam and reservoir.
Just beyond the dirt track where the paved aqueduct trail begins there is a connecting trail that appeared to connect to another trail going to the Forest Reserve Entrance in Teluk Bahang. I never took it as I never had reason, but I got the chance this past week when my friend Emma needed to scout it out for a class hike. So we left the Bayview parking lot around 830am. I estimated that it would take about 1 hour to connect to the junction of trails on the first hill in Forest Reserve and that was about right. Most of the trek after the waterfall is steep and I was soaked in sweat within 10 minutes. There are two steep ascents broken by about 10 minutes of flat terrain on the way to the junction. Once there we took the path to the right which led us downhill towards the Forest Reserve, taking another 1.5hours. At one point there is a wooden platform with a great view. Once you reach this you are about 20 minutes from the end of the trail in the Forest Reserve. In the reserve there is room to camp and pools to swim in as well as some small restaurants and snack stands by the gate.

It was well enough marked and from the junction on the top hill you can make your way all the way to Penang Hill if we had taken a left instead of the right to head to the Forest Reserve. I reckon it would be fun to hike from Bayview to the top, but that would take all day and my days here in Penang are winding down. Hopefully I will get in a few more hikes, but probably not any that long. 

Chinese Visa Center in KL

Since we will be moving to China in about 6 weeks we had to go through the process of getting visas to enter the country. This has been a long process since China has recently tightened restrictions. We had to get authenticated translations of our  marriage certificate, one of the harder things to do since this had to be authenticated at the Chinese embassy. We did this in Japan since we could trust courier services there. We then had to send that authenticated translation along with my criminal clearance from my home country (which I got through an FBI courier service) and my resident country criminal clearance which I had to get in KL. What a pain that was. In order to get my criminal record in the US I had to submit fingerprints. I have done this before, so why I have to submit new ones each time I move is a mystery to me. Anways, I thought I would go to the local police station in Batu Ferringi to get it done. Last time I did this when I was living in Japan I went to my local police station in Aizu-misato (a town of roughly 15,000) and got them done. However, the Batu police said yes, then no and told me to go to Tanjung Bungah which is a slightly larger station. Once there the police told me to go to Georgetown central police station. I went there and the detective laughed and told me to go to KL to the central police station there to get it done. (a side note, while I was in the police station all 4 tires on my car were slashed. I was parked right next to the station). I don't know if this is a lack of skill or a distrust of the FBI for Malaysian police but the whole process was a pain in the butt. Once at the central KL station they almost didn't let me in because I wasn't wearing long pants! The joy of living in Malaysia. Ok, so I got the finger prints finally and had them sent off to the US. My criminal record went to my mothers in the US since they don't send abroad and she sent it on reaching me shortly after. I then bunched everything and posted to Beijing using EMS to make sure it would be fast and secure. Batu Ferringi Post office is known for theft and especially after all of that I wasn't about to send it via local post.

Once those documents reached Beijing my new school had to then produce a letter of employment for us. We then had to take that letter along with another authenticated copy of our marriage certificate (didn't know this at first, so had to get the marriage certificate translated again and authenticated at the Chinese embassy again), copies of the marriage certificate, letters from employer, copies of passport pages, current country visa pages, past Chinese visa pages (which for me was in an expired passport), two head shots each, about 800myr for processing fee, and documents to the visa center in KL. On Friday morning I went to the center to apply for an expediated service. The visa center is housed in Hampshire Place, a tall glass building about 2 blocks from the main road of Jalan Ampang. I went to the 5th floor, was checked to see if I had the proper documents then given a number. I opted for the earliest time slot of 9-930am assuming later would be busy. At 915 it was not busy, there were about 12 counters services an equal number of applicants. My number was called within minutes and then I stood with the center rep as she made sure I had everything and understood that I would have to return for an interview on Monday.

So I left knowing that Aya would return on Monday to do the interview and to collect the passports. Spouses are allowed to apply and collect without each other. That part of the process was fairly painless.

The interviews are at the Bank of China building right along Jalan Ampang. Its a tall white building with the Plaza Osk sign along the main road. Aya said the interview consisted of 2 or 3 very mundane questions like, "So your husband has a job in Beijing?" and took just a few minutes. She then had to return in the afternoon to the other building, Hampshire place, to pay the fees and collect the visas. So now we have my Z visa and Aya's short term tourist visa and can enter China. Then within 24 hours we must report to a police station to register and then within a week or so we will be getting our residency permits. At the end it only cost us two trips to KL, 4 nights in a hotel, numerous taxi rides, two authentications/translations, a few photos and copies, and about 8 hours of total document collecting and writing. In monetary terms, probably close to 1800USD. Jeez, Louise. 

Cameron Highlands

About two months ago Aya and I went to Cameron Highlands as part of our "lets see Malaysia before we leave Malaysia" campaign (trademark pending). The Cameron Highlands got its name from Sir William Cameron, a British surveyor who was commissioned by the then colonial government to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in the 1885. He noted that in the mountains there was wide space of gently rolling hills and flatland. Throughout the 20th century it was developed into a resort/retreat and eventually took on an agricultural role as well.

We drove from Penang and it took us about 4 hours. Traffic wasn't so bad initially, but we did find that once we had left the interstate at Ipoh and started traveling east the road was a lot more dangerous. Most of that danger came from other drivers as they passed us on blind single lane corners winding up the mountain side with 100s of feet drop off on the other side. Though normally this would seem to be shockingly bad driving to us, but we have been living in Malaysia long enough to know that this disregard for safety is normal.

We had heard from a number of people that Cameron Highlands was a nice place because of the cool weather and this was certainly true. Most of the night and day was cool enough to need a long sleeve shirt and perhaps a light jacket. At around noon temperatures were warm enough to wear short sleeves, but not brutally hot like the rest of Malaysia. Each morning I took a short run through a valley and barely broke a sweat. Not like the dripping work outs I've become used to in Malaysia.

As for the activities we partook in, there isn't a whole lot to do which I suppose is the point. There are many strawberry fields and honey "farms" as well as roadside produce. There are also a lot of golf courses in the area and a good number of hiking trails. Unfortunately I had a sore knee and so didn't get to do any hiking. We did manage three things while we were there; visiting the Jim Thompson Tea Room, going to a strawberry farm, and visiting the Time Tunnel museum. We should have gone to the BOH tea plantations as well, but we didn't.

The Jim Thompson Tea Room is located at the Cameron Highlands Resort and we had a nice tea and cakes set one afternoon. Mr. Thompson is most well known for his involvment in the silk trade and being a CIA agent who just disappeared one day in the Cameron Highlands. The story still commands a lot of speculation even 50 years later. My guess is that he was taking a walk on a jungle path when another hiker tried to pass him on a single land blind corner and forced him into a ravine. Just a guess.

The strawberry farm was a bit lackluster as there were so many other tourists and traffic. We basically bolted in, bought some strawberries and bolted out. There is something you lose when you are elbow to elbow with other tourists and the roar of diesel trucks is breaking the mid morning calm.

The Time Tunnel we went to on the way out of town and it was a neat little museum. Most of the material you need to be Malaysian to truly appreciate, but there were some interesting bits none-the-less. If someone reads this in the future with the intent of going I would say do it, its fairly cheap and gives a nice view into some of the more recent historical events in Malaysia. Lots of knick knacks and pictures were there along with some other random things that made no sense what-so-ever.

Overall we enjoyed our time in the Highlands, but think that the drive to get there more than cancelled out the nice weather and beyond about a day and a half of activities there isn't much to do especially if you bring kids with. I have no idea what parents would do with them. As a relaxing weekend it was just fine.

SamPoh Temple

 

SamPoh temple, located on the south western shore of Penang, has been a target visit for me since I moved to Penang. A few years ago I worked in a humanities department whose head was rather knowledgeable about a man called Zheng He (Cheng Ho). In the early 15^th century he is known to have made many very long voyages from China to explore the world. It is confirmed that he sailed as far as east Africa on ships that were many times the size of European explorers of a similar age. Zheng He's first voyage departed 11 July 1405, from Suzhou and consisted of a fleet of 317 ships holding almost 28,000 crewmen. He would make 7 more vogayes before dying sometime in the mid 1400’s. There are a few temples attributed to him in Malaysia, but this one was a bit unique since there is a footprint in the rock there which is supposed to be where he landed. The footprint is rather large and seems like it is carved into the stone.

While being a neat little visit in Penang, this temple is now flanked by a construction site for a new residential/shopping plaza. The rate at which construction is happening in Malaysia is mad and even more so for the disregard for the heritage for the area. Who knows how long this temple will stand there.

Forest Trail

The trail from Teluk Bahang forest reserve to the top of Penang Hill has been on my list to do since before I arrived here. Searching through possible hiking treks around the island this seemed to be the most appealing as the distance and time required better matched what I have previously done on longer hikes. However, after being here for just a short while and trying some other hikes around the island it occred to me that hiking here would not be like hiking in Japan/the US/New Zealand and that each step would take a bit longer and be a bit more uncomfortable. The thing about Penang, and about Malaysia, is that the heat and humidity can be oppressive. Most days when I arrive home it’s a struggle to not just lay down on the couch and never get up because the heat is just too much. This has lead most of my hiking here to be in the 3-4 hour range max. Plus, there aren’t too many people to whom a 6-8 hour hike clear across the island would appeal to and it’s a trail where you don’t want to be alone due to proximity to help. Should you twist an ankle it would be at least a couple of hours hike on healthy legs, let alone a sprained or broken one, to get to help.

 

So when my friend told me that she was going on an exploratory hike in advance of a club she would be leading later I jumped at the chance. So too did a few of my colleagues and 6 of us set out at 12:45 from the Teluk Bahang Forest reserve this past Saturday. Most estimates put the hike at 6-8 hours and so we assumed we could make it to Penang Hill at or just before nightfall. There we would meet up with another group of teachers at the Methodist Center, a sort of run down bunkhouse where we could camp.

It took us just about an hour to climb the first section from the base of the Forest Reserve to the top of the first hill where we took a 15 minute break for water and snacks. This part of the trail starts out fairly flat, but the latter half begins a steep ascent where ropes are fixed in some places (yellow line).

After that is a small series of up and down hill before a long steep ascent up to the juncture/right turn off to Titikerawang. This juncture took just over an hour and a half to get to from the last stop making this about 3 hours into the hike. We stopped here as well for 15 minutes to snack and rest. There are some views here to the west and north and the reservoir at Teluk Bahang as well as Batu Ferringi are easily seen here.

After that stop the trail goes right down the other side of the mountain and is very steep in some places where fixed ropes are the only way to safely descend. I can’t imagine what it looks like in the rain. This took us another 40 minutes or so. Once at the bottom of the hill we stopped for a quick rest and water at rain gauge 11 before heading up the final large hill to the edge of the Western Reserve (red line). Though it appears on the map as if there is a turn off just before rain guage 11 to hike to air itam dam we never saw that.

It took us about 40 minutes to make it to the edge of the Western Reserve where a red circle with white dash told us to turn right. This followed about 10 minutes of steep downhill, across a small creek, then steep uphill for another 10 minutes or so. Then you are spit onto the road on Penang Hill. From there you take a right off the trail to get to the tram. Keep going straight along the main road and you should get there in about 45 minutes to an hour.

Overall the hike was good, but if you are using the maps from the Forest Trail book of hikes be careful. Maps are not nearly to scale or representative of distance relation of objects to one another. Many trails have turn offs not listed. Bring plenty of food and water. I went through 4 liters over the 5 hour period and was still very thirsty at the end. The hiking is easy in some points, but all of those points are broken by very steep sections. This hike requires stamina, so do not attempt for a leisurely walk.

Thaipusam In Penang

Last year I avoided Thaipusam because I knew traffic would be bad and also I just plain got lazy, but this year seeing as it will be our last year in Penang Aya and I decided to go see what all the hubbub was about.

In Malaysia there is a pretty big Tamil community and Penang I feel like even more so. Thaipusam is a word meaning the month of the star, or something close to that, and is celebrated by Hindu devotees. The festival commemorates the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a Vel "spear" so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman. I can’t pretend I know any of that though, wikipedia tells me so. What I knew about the festival is that it involved moving a heavy silver shrine from Lorong Kulit temple  in Georgetown to Arulmigu Sri Balathandayuthapani Temple near the botanical gardens, people would be making offerings of milk, and there would be a lot of devotees making the long walk there with hooks and spears in their bodies. Yeah, you read that right. Carrying kavadis, or burdens can be done as an act of penance. Usually in Penang this is done by carrying pots of milk, being speared, or both. Upon reaching the temple, devotees will fulfill their vows, offer thanksgiving prayers and penance to Lord Muruga.

We didn’t get speared or carrying any milk. More or less we wandered around Jalan Waterfall to see the speared men making their march to the temple and to get some street food. Aya ended up getting some henna done on her hand as well. After snapping a couple of pictures we left, mission complete. On the list of things to do in Penang, one more thing checked off. Now, I have to get Aya to climb Penang Hill with me!

Osaka

Back in Osaka for the new year we took some time to visit the castle and to go to the shrine to make a prayer and wish. On the way to the airport we stopped in Rinku town as we had a couple of hours between checking out of our hotel and the flight. Rinku town is the last stop before the airport and is a center for an outlet mall. We stuffed our bags into a locker and then went to do some shopping, have lunch, and then go to the hot baths. It was rather nice to do before the long flight back to Penang. For those of you who can't read it, that sign on the floor says that "pleasure town" is to the right. Yes please! 

Naha

Back in Naha the weather did improve slightly, no more rain. It was pleasant during the days, just warm enough to wear short sleeves. While in Naha we went to an orphanage that Alex had visited before. This was a great highlight to the trip as it was great to volunteer some time doing some good. I wish we could do more, but it seems like we were lucky enough to just get to spend some time playing with the kids. They definitely seemed to like it, but it was sad to go. Many of them asked when we would come back.
The next couple of days Alex spent seeing some acquaintances of his on a nearby island and Aya and I did some shopping and went to the aquarium in the north of the island which was very cool. This was my second time there, but this time I got to do something I didn't last. We watched the feeding of the whale sharks, which was so cool to see them sucking in and filtering their food. After that we were allowed up onto the top of the aquarium for a look down.
On the new year we went to an american base to walk around for a bit and also to watch some dancing and fireworks on new year's eve. It was a good time. That night we bid Alex goodbye and were on our way to the airport and back to Osaka the next day. 

Iriomote

Seeing as we would be spending nearly a week on Ishigaki we thought it would be fun to take a day trip by ferry to one of the neighboring islands. We chose Iriomote as Alex astutely pointed out, "I want to ride the yak (cart)." Unfortunately it was still a very rainy day so going to the island and walk around it was a pretty wind swept and cool exercise. The yak cart was in fact kind of neat, but on the island there wasn't too much to see. A few animals in a small zoo, mangrove forests, some beaches, and a small museum. There seem to be about 30 yaks, maybe a dozen working each day. The cart drivers also had traditional sansen and would serenade us as we crossed from the mainland to the island. We also took a boat tour to get a closer look at the mangroves, but it was raining so wasn't too fun. Unfortunately we didn't see what I would have liked to, the Iriomote wild cat (modeled by Aya).