Pulau Perhentian and South West Thailand

After Penang I moved to the opposite coast and the islands of Perhentian. I staid on the smaller of the two islands for six days while getting my PADI SCUBA Certification. 

Having only ever done free diving in the past, SCUBA was a new experience that I instantly fell in love with. I dove with an amazing shop and group of guys that also really amplified my experience. 

The first part of the certification was theory, where we read and watched DVDs about every thing from equipment to calculating how much nitrogen is in ones blood after a dive. There was a lot to learn but the information was practical and for the most part interesting. 

The second portion of the certification was confined water dives, where we took the information learned in the theory portion and applied them underwater in a controlled environment. Most of the activities were centered arround safety and what to do in an emergency.  

The final step was a series of open water dives with our instructor to perform the skills that we had learned and to do some fun diving after. My instructor was great and I felt totally confident in my abilities after completing the course. 

After I graduated I had enough time to do a fun dive to a wreak of three sunken police boats. Even though the visibility wasn't that good it was cool to dive through the boats without having to work on skills before hand. 

The next day I spent the entire day traveling from Malaysia to Krabi, Thailand. There was no direct transport so I spent 12 hrs on 1 boat, 2 vans, 1 bus and two motor bikes to get to my hostel. 

The next day I took a long tail boat to Railay to do some rock climbing on the beaches famous limestone walls. The views were spectacular overlooking the bay from the top of each line. I then lounged on the beach surrounded by limestone caves and stalactites. 

The following day I took the ferry over to Kho Phi Phi, a beautiful little island best known as the beach from "The Beach".  I have been here for 3 days and this afternoon I will take another ferry to Thailand's biggest island, Phuket.  

Singapore, Bali and Malaysia

The journey from Buenos Aires to Singapore took roughly 37 hours in total travel time, but I had great seats on both flights so I was well rested and not very jet lagged when I arrived. On the night of my arrival I walked around the colonel part of the city and indulged in the street food they are famous for. 

The next day I went to a few temples and ate and drank (yes they had a few microbrewerys) myself through both China Town and Little India. 

The next day I found a cheap flight to Indonisia and before I knew it I found myself in Bali. 

After a long night out in Kuta, Bali, I made my way from my "resort" hostel to the beach to catch some much needed rays after being in the Andes for so long. The beach is huge and covered with chairs and umbrellas with locals selling ice cold beer and cheap food. I spent the day surfing the amazing waves before I pulled up a chair to watch the sunset. 

The next day I rented a moped, and for those of you who don't know it was a big deal for me to ride one again after almost killing myself on one in Hawaii. I rode through the crazy traffic to the cliff-side town of Uluwatu, world renowned for the surf. I watched from the cliffs as double overhead sets rolled though to the delight of the hundreds of surfers that traveled from all over the world to that spot. I then went to a seaside temple that doubled as a monkey sanctuary. 

The next day I got some more beach time in and then watched the Chargers get their ass kicked on Tuesday Morning Football. I left straight from the bar to the airport to catch my flight to Kuala Lumpur. 

My only full day in KL was packed with adventues around the city. I started out early at the Batu Caves, where huge Hindu temples and statues are located in caves in the mountains. I then went to the big central market in Little India for lunch before moving over to China Town to barter for designer goods. The market had everything from Prada handbags to NFL jerseys to Rolex watches in good quality for cheap. That night I walked downtown to see Malaysias version of the twin towers, made famous by the movie, Entrapment.  

The next day I took the bus to the Cameron Higlands for a break from the sweltering heat in KL. When I got in, I joined a tour through the countryside to see many of the different types of farms in the region. 

The next day I went in search of the biggest flower in the world that takes a year to grow and only blooms for 5 days before it dies and disappears. We found the flower, with help from a guide, after hiking a few kilometers into the jungle. Then we went back into the mountains to vist the Mossy Forest, which was like stepping into the pages of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. To finish off the night I went to the night market for farm fresh corn and sweet potatoes. 

This morning I took the bus to Penang, an island off the coast of NW Malaysia. It's known for its amazing street food and for most of the day I checked out many of the options. I then walked off the food by strolling the streets to look at all the art painted on the walls of the city. 

I will spent one more day in Panang and then head over to Pulau Perhentian for some diving. 

Buenos Aires

My final stop in South America was Buenas Aires and it did not disappoint. Oddly enough though it felt to me that the city did not belong in South America and was nothing like any other city I had been to. After the bus from Bariloche I walked to the neighborhood of Recoleta to check out the famous cemetery with massive crypts. 

The next day I went to the neighborhood of la Boca which I home to the futbol club of Bocas Juniors and amazingly colorful houses with tin roofs. I then rode the metro to some outskirts town to see the oldest barber in Buenas Aires. La Epocia is a coffee shop/museum/barber where I got a hair cut and the first straight shave of my life. 

On my third day I walked through the Palermo neighborhood for their craft market and then went back to Recoleta for their market and to see the Fuerza Bruta show. The interactive show was a crazy mix of music, acrobatics, dancing that created a sensory overload. It was one of the coolest shows I have been to, I just wish I could explain what it actually was to people. 

The next day I visited to San Telmo neighborhood for their famous street fair that stretched multiple kilometers. Then that night I went to the futbol match between local team, San Lorenzo and their rivals River Plate. The competition was not that good but the fans were crazy. They sang from start to finish in unison about 20 different songs regardless of the score or even if River scored. It was an amazing experience to be part of. 

Yesterday I realized that I hadn't see anything Tango related, something that Argentina is famous for, so I decided to get the full tango experience by taking a lesson and then having a 3 course steak dinner while watching a show. 

On top of all thoes amazing activities most backpackers flock to BA for the legendary night life. A typical night consists of dinner until about midnight, then to the bars until about 2 and then to the nightclubs that don't close until the sun rises. 

Today is my last day in South America and as I walked around today I got the opportunity to reflect on the past 3 months. I have had a blast in every county that I have been and I wouldn't change a thing. I am sad to be leaving and I wish that I could have seen more, but I am also very excited to start the next chapter of my trip. I know I will come back in the near future but now I need to change modes and get ready for Asia!