I'm a bit behind in my posting due to busy days and spotty wi-fi. While each guesthouse I've stayed at has had wi-fi, many times it'll only work in the common areas - usually out in the open where the mosquitoes are free to feast on the people taking advantage of the internet connection. So I haven't been updating the blog much as I should.

After leaving my friends in Pattani I boarded a plane and flew up to Chiang Mai, a city in northern Thailand. The old city center is a cluster of old temples, restaurants and massage shops. I spent a few days there enjoying the incredible weather of the city in between taking a cooking class, going on a tour to meet some of the local hill tribes and trekking to various temples (one such place is pictures below).

Chiang Mai's Buddhist influence (with a bit of Hinduism thrown in) was in strong contrast to the Muslim Thai and Malay culture of the southern part of Thailand. I'm quite happy I got to see both places because I think it gave me a different perspective on Thailand.

After exploring Kuala Lumpur I took a flight into southern Thailand and eventually made my way to the town of Pattani. This portion of my trip was one of my most eagerly anticipated because I would meet up with friends with whom I had met at BSU. It was also a part of the trip that concerned me the most because Pattani is far from the tourist circuit so comminicating in English would be difficult. In addition to that fact Pattani occasionally makes the news for problems in the region which have manifested in bombings, one that occured just a few months ago. However, my trip happened to coincide with an international conference on Islamic Studies and due in part to the important dignitaries from around the world Pattani had a very visible military presence. It was both comforting and a bit nerve wrecking to see soldiers on the street corners carrying assault rifles.

Besides the strong martial presence My time in Pattani was quiet and relaxing. My friends showed me around their city, introduced me to a variety of unfamiliar tropical fruit and shared with me aspects of their daily lives. As you might guess from the photo above Pattani has a very strong and observant Muslim presence (my friends estimate 90% of the population there is Muslim). I was fortunate enough to learn more about Islam during my visit in addition to Thai culture. While my friends were busy I explored the city on my own or relexed at my hotel (my first "luxury" accomodations since starting the trip).

There is much more to say but I'll post it with photos from the trip. I'm now in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, it's strong Buddhist heritage a stark contrast from Pattani's predominantly Muslim one.

After a relaxing few days in Melaka I hopped on a bus for Malaysia's capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Though I only had a few days in the city I was able to see a lot thanks to the kindness of Lina, a Malaysian whom I met through a popular traveler's website - couchsurfing.com. Lina showed me different aspects of Malaysian life from the beautiful and sacred site of Batu caves to Chinatown, the Petronas towers and the national mosque. Yesterday we spent more time relaxing and I got to try my hand at batik - a popular artform in Malaysia and other parts of Asia. Artists draw designs on silk, outline them with wax and then paint them. This type of decoration was traditionally used to decorate some types of sarong, a part of the Malaysian traditional dress. I wasn't very good at painting the silk as you can see below but it was still a memorable experience and I have a fun souvenir from my trip here in Malaysia.

After less than 48 hours in Singapore I hopped on a bus for the Malaysian town of Melacca. This small town was once a strategic port city between Europe and countries throughout Asia. The former town square boasts architecture from periods of Portuguese, Dutch and English rule. Along one side of the river that runs through part of the town are Chinese merchant homes - the area still remains a vibrant Chinatown. There's also a small Little India which consists mostly of Tamils, descendants of laborers brought over by the British in the 1800's.

I spent my 3 days in Melacca strolling along the historic part of the city and along the river. The city, which I'm told is usually breeming with tourists on the weekends was very quiet on the weekdays while I was there. Many of the restaurants and shops would close by early evening which led to a very low key and relaxing experience while there.

I've been looking forward to getting away from Korea's dreary winter and Singapore has been a welcome but very hot change. The daily temperature has been in the high 80's, low 90's but with the humidity it feels closer to 100. I spent yesterday walking around the Botanic Gardens before exploring Chinatown and Little India. Singapore has a substantial Hindu population so I visited a few temples while to learn a little about diasporic Hindu practices here. Surprisingly though Indians have been in Singapore for 150+ years the Hindu practices I saw were more similar to Hinduism in India than those of their peers in the USA who are more recent immigrants.

Below is a picture of Saraswati at the Sri Mariamman Temple here in Singapore.

Hello sunshine!

As you might guess from the picture - this will be my last post for awhile. I'll be traveling throughout Southeast Asia for a month and so I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update my blog due to sporadic internet. I'm starting in Singapore and then traveling up through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and then down into Cambodia before returning to Korea. I'm quite excited in 3 of the 5 countries I'll be taking a day long cooking class - hopefully I'll learn how to make some really delicious food!

Once I return though I'll upload a few photos in a somewhat timely manner (i.e. give me a month) so I can share my adventures!

My friend Melanie has a tradition on her blog where she posts a single photo every Friday with no words which illustrates a moment from the previous week. I felt inspired by the concept and decided to adopt it for my own blog. Each week I will post a single photo with no words from a moment in my life - either from the previous week or something or someone about which I've been thinking. A simple yet memorable image to share with everyone.