Night Markets

Mostly, Matt and I ate at street stalls...the food is delicious, there is a ton of people watching to be done, and it is cheap. At the night markets, you can ogle all sorts of delicious exotic foods. One of my favorite things was the delicious laksa assam that Matt ordered one night. It was so yummy! Laksa is sort of like tom yum soup, except it has coconut milk and this particular type of laksa had tamarind in it, which made it sort of sweet.


Mmmm....laksa! 


Chow Kit Night Market 


Goodies at the Night Market 

Birds

On our first day in KL, Matt and I went to the Lake Gardens, which is sort of like KL's version of Balboa Park. There was a Space Museum, various other museums, a butterfly enclosure, a big lake with trails around it, and the world's largest enclosed aviary. We went to the aviary and it was definitely large. The birds were gorgeous and we watched a funny show where the parrots road little bicycles. The best part was watching the little muslim kids that were there on a field trip. They thought it was so funny! And their uniforms were hot pink, even the boys! It was cute.

Another thing happened at the aviary...I didn't think it was very funny. While I was feeding the koi in the pond, I was surrounded by giant bids, you know the ones that are almost as tall as people? With huge bills that could pierce through your head? They didn't bother me because they were far away and doing their own thing.

If anyone knows me well, they know about my history with birds...I will recap for those of you that don't know. When I was little, maybe around the age of 4 or 5, I was walking with my mom on the sidewalk down by the beach. You know the sidewalk that overlooks the ocean on one side, and a grassy field is on the other side? Well, we were walking together and I was eating an ice cream cone. I am not sure what happened but all of a sudden I was surrounded by a flock of sea gulls and they were dive bombing my ice cream cone! My mom was on the other side of the mass of flapping feathers and beaks...I was screaming to her and she was yelling, "Drop the cone! Drop the cone!" I couldn't drop the cone. Now, this could be interpreted in either of two ways: the first way is that I just really like ice cream, and didn't want the birds to get it. I don't thnk that is the case, although I do love ice cream. I was just too scared, and so I got "dear in the headlights" syndrome and I froze. Mom was just yelling to me, and of course it is scary to try to fight your way through scary, aggressive sea gulls, so she just kept yelling. I am not sure how it ended, but obviously it is safe now, so somehow I got out alive. But I am eternally scarred by a fear of large birds. I am sure I am remembering the story in a very exaggerated way, but that is what is in my memory. Maybe my mom can clarify what really happened. I remember being in Spain with Sarah Chipps and clinging on to her and ducking my head behind her back because we were in a plaza surrounded by pigeons. She was stunned by how ridiculous I was...

Anyway, back to the story about the aviary in KL...I was feeding the koi quite happily when all of a sudden all of these tall birds sarted running towards me. They looked eager and hungry...I thought they wanted my fish food, so I started chasing Matt down the path trying to throw the fish food at him. He just kept walkng and I panicked even more...I had to get the fish food away from me. (See...I learned something from the ice cream cone experience.) My heart was leaping into my throat, I didn't know what to do. Then I saw what the birds were after...an aviary employee was walking up with a big bucket of fish to feed to the birds. He had little kids with him and they were going to help. They were looking at me like I was so strange...I guess I was strange, haha! When the adrenaline stopped pumping through my body, I watched the little kids feeding the birds. They were not scared at all! Haha! I guess everyone has their quirks...Matt got a big kick out of my reaction to all of the birds running towards me.


Meagan with pretty bird  


The kids about to watch the bird show 


Meagan feeding the Koi in the Aviary...unaware of the oncoming attack! 

Kuala Lumpur

Matt and I had a great time in Kuala Lumpur...we needed some fun after everything that has happened in the past month! It was great because we had no expectations for KL. We didn't know what to expect...but we loved it! It is a beautiful, green, lush city. It is clean, the streets are wide, and it feels alot less crowded that Hong Kong. While we did see some other travellers, the whole city wasn't geared for tourists, so it had a nice, laid back feeling.

One of the nicest parts of KL is the diversity. It is a mix of Chinese, Malay, and Indian people and which has led to a really interesting fusion and non-fusion of cultures. (If that makes sense...what I mean is that the cultures have held on to their traditions but also borrowed things from the others.) Also, KL used to be part of a British colony, and yet most of the Malay people are muslim, so the buildings are a really cool blend of colonial and Islamic styles. The city is gorgeous! Even the airport was awesome...it had a sort of peaked roof and in the center of our terminal was a tiny section of enclosed rainforest with windows all around it so you could see the rainforest while sitting and waiting for your plane. This was especially cool while it was raining.

Also, the public transportation was great...you could get anywhere you wanted on the monorail, light rail, metro or commuter train. But then, I am fascinated by public transportation in any city, as invariably it is always light years ahead of what we have in the US. (Except maybe in New York.)

I really liked the location of the hotel we stayed at, the Federal Hotel. We were rgiht on Jalan Bukit Bintang, close to all of the shops, monorail, and street stalls.


Meagan in front of Petronas Towers 


Matt at the monorail station 

Jalan Sultan Ismail (A street near our hotel) 

Future Trips!

Right now, I am extremely excited...I have a lot of fun trips planned! All of these came about quite suddenly, too, which is really the best way.

The first reason I am excited is that escrow on my Dad's house in Pasadena finally closed. One less headache to deal with! I am envisioning a future full of far less late night phone calls, faxing and notarizing.

The second reason is that I started taking tennis lessons! I had my first lesson on Tuesday with Coach Larry at the Hong Kong Tennis Center. I am taking the lessons with my friends, Gail and Kelly, and it really is quite fun. I am not very good since I have never played before, but I am excited to learn and maybe buy a cute a tennis outfit when the weather gets warmer.

The third reason I am excited is because I am going to visit Andrew and Lisa in Minneapolis this summer. I have always wanted to visit there, and have heard from many people that Minneapolis is a cool city with alot of interesting stuff going on. I want to see Andrew and Lisa's house, which I have heard so much about, and also maybe try sailing. Maybe I will even reconnect with my Scandinavian roots while I am there. Haha!

The fourth reason I am excited is because Matt and scheduled a last inute trip to Kuala Lumpur for Easter weekend! Woo hoo! We really shouldn't have booked it, given all of our hospital bills and health expenses, but we decided we needed a trip and some time to hang out with eachother and have fun. We got a really good deal flying out of Macau International Airport. It is an hour long ferry ride to get to Macau, but it is worth it to get a cheap flight. I remember when I was in High School and I lived in San Diego, there was a billboard that said "Visit Kuala Lumpur" on Miramar Road. I always thought it would be so cool to got there but I never thought I would...it seemed too remote. At that point I didn't even know KL was in Malaysia. Anyway, now we are going and I am ecstatic. The food is supposed to be amazing, and I am definitely primed for it since I have been reading the Mum-mum Malaysian Food blog. (The Mum-mum girl is from Kuching, but hey, maybe another trip, right?)

The fifth reason I am excited is because GRANDMA JANET IS COMING TO VISIT ME!! She is staying from May 5 until May 19...it is going to be so great. I already told all of my friends about it and I have been planning what we will do. We have to have High Tea at the Peninsula Hotel, have dinner overlooking the Harbor at Felix, have dinner on the Peak, have dim sum, have brunch and The Verandah in Repulse Bay, see the Buddha in Lantau, hike across Lamma Island, go to Macau, take the Star Ferry, see the light show, maybe go to Ocean Park....the possibilities are endless. (Notice most of those things are food related...well, that is Hong Kong, famous for good food and lots of it.) I am so happy! I just hope the weather is not too hot and humid, that could be bad.

So, Matt and I are off to KL now...I will post pictures when we return!

I'm Back

My ordeal in the hospital is over...yay! Usually I am pretty strong about stuff -- I don't mind needles at all -- but I was a complete baby. Matt and I went to Starbucks for a "last breakfast" and then he stayed with me till I was settled in, which was nice. Of course, the insurance was a hassle as usual, because strangely, no one has seemed to have heard of Aetna here. It is pretty standard, right? Plus, the only reason I went to the Adventist Hospital is because our insurance would cover it.

When Dr. Kay came to give me the spinal tap, told me to roll on my side, and then he administered some local anesthesia. Then he started inserting the big needle...and it felt SO WEIRD! I could feel it chunking through all of the different layers. I did not like the feeling at all, and sadly, I started crying and screaming and yelling, "Don't do it! I changed my mind! Don't do it! Take it out!" The nurse was holding me down. I was sobbing...which is lame cause I know it was a routine thing, a lumbar puncture. The hospital people thought it was no big deal, and I guess it wasn't. The doctor asked if I wanted more anesthesia and I said, "Yes, I need a lot more than it looks like because I am very muscular..." I thought it was funny but I don't think he thought so. Anyway, after he gave me more, he tried the procedure again and it was fine. So, I guess I did need more. My friend Kelly offered to be there with me during the procedure and I told her not to, because I thought I would prefer to do it myself. But when the procedure was actually happening, I wished that somebody would have been there. The nurse was holding me down and holding my hand at the same time, and every time she walked away to help the doctor, I was like, "No, please don't leave me here."

Later, my friends Kelly, Maria and Gail came to visit and it was so nice of them. They brought flowers and magazines and whole bag of sandwiches and drinks and chips. But, I think it tired me too much to sit there and talk to them for 2 hours, because by the time Matt got there at 8 o clock at night, I was so tired and my head hurt and I basically had a tantrum about him not getting there sooner. He brought me chocolates and I had to restrain myself from throwing them at the wall.

My worst fears about my roommate in the hospital came true...I was sharing a room with an old woman, who only caught glimpses of through the sheet that separated us, but I could hear her groaning and whimpering almost non stop. She had been there for 2 months and I think she will probably be there till she dies. She did NOT look good and she required a lot of attention. She had visitors non stop, which is to be expected given her condition, but it sucked for me. Her visitors felt very comfortable there, since she had been there for 2 months, and they were microphone very strong smelling Chinese food, listening to the TV on a Cantonese channel very loudly, and jabbering away non stop. There must have been at least 5 visitor there at all times, usually women. Only someone that has lived in Hong Kong or around large numbers of Chinese speaking people can understand what it is like to hear high pitched, LOUD, Cantonese speaking when you have a headache. Cantonese people generally speak very loudly, and the tones of the language can be less than melodic, and women (especially old women) are very, um, intense. Plus, they didn't know how to work all the buttons and nobs in the hospital so they kept turning on and off my lights and the TV. Plus, they stared at me every time they walked by my bed. Her in Hong Kong, it isn't really considered to be rude to stare at someone. Maybe they were staring to see who was yelling and sobbing during a minor lumbar puncture! Haha! They stayed all night and then turned on those bright fluorescent lights on my side of the room so I basically got no sleep, even with the sleeping pill. I do feel bad for the woman that seemed to be dying. It made me wonder what is the point of struggling to keep her alive. She seemed to be in so much pain. Plus, I felt bad for her with all of those squawking, screeching women around her all the time. It was probably a comfort to have her family though. I feel bad complaining about them when they are in such a bad situation.

Anyway, I am back, and thanks for everyone's nice emails. Oh, the doctor had some preliminary tests done on the CSF (fluid from my spinal chord) and there is no sign of infection. Now we have to wait three weeks for further tests to be done. They are going to test for multiple sclerosis, HIV, syphilis, tuberculosis, and many other things. They have to send the CSF back to the US and that is why it takes so long! I am pretty sure I can rule out the HIV and syphilis from my list of "worries" and the doctor told me something else positive: He had a patient that showed signs of MS on their MRI and the test of the CSF showed that they probably did not have MS. It is a slim chance, but I am a positive thinker! I feel so good, it is hard to imagine that anything serious is wrong with me. I have been under a lot of stress, and I think that the effects of stress cannot be underestimated. Yes, yes, I know that stress can trigger and MS "flare up". But...I have faith that everything is going to be OK.


See, I look healthy, right? 

Don't turn out the lights!

I am about to go check myself into the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital. It is pretty nice there, I have been several times before for outpatient treatment. It is relatively near our house, which is good, and it is right next door to one of my friend's houses. I am staying for one night, not two like the doctor wanted me to. Honestly, I am scared! I am not afraid of the test where they extract the spinal chord fluid or the pain afterwards, I am afraid of sleeping in the hospital! I have never done it before and had never even thought about it but now that I am about to check in, and am packing my back, I am really afraid! I keep envisioning the moment when they turn off the lights, and I am left in the dark, cold hospital by myself, unable to sleep but also unable to move. Plus, I am sharing a room and will only have privacy by a sheet. I know this is ridiculous, but what if I have to share with some of those old, mean Chinese ladies that I see around town! Plus, they will be sick!!

I know all of this is ridiculous, and that it will be fine. I have slept in many bad conditions on my travels and it hasn't bothered me before...I am sure it will be better than I am imagining. I just don't want to go. But, I do need to find out the results of the test. I will post again when I am back from the hospital.

It's Official!

Today I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. While I was in Thailand, I noticed that my right leg was tingly and numb feeling. Then, my left leg ceased to function. I couldn't lift my leg on it's own, if I wanted to sit with my legs crosed or put on my pants in the morning, I would have to lift up my leg with my hands and move it. My leg wouldn't do what my brain was telling it to do. But, it didn't really bother me much because we were mainly swimming, laying on the beach and sea canoeing. On the plane home I started to get worried and in the airport I could not walk without a limp. Also, my hip would sort of spasm, especially at night. It was like electric volts were being sent from my hright hip down to my thigh. For three days I was virtually immobile, so I went to a doctor who referred me to a neurologist. The neurologist, Dr. Richard Kay, sent me to get an MRI. Because of difficulties with insurance, and my hesitation to undergo such an expensive test, I did not get the MRI until Friday March 11, a month after the symptoms began. Today I had my follow up appointment, and the Doctor said that he is 95% sure that I have MS.

He said that I have many lesions in my brain and also on my spinal cord. The portion that has the worst lesion is right around the area of my sternum. Dr. Kay wants me to have the fluid in my spinal chord tested to be absolutely sure that I have MS. He is concerned because he said there is an abcess in my brain and it could be due to an infection of some type that we would need to treat. So...I guess I will get the test done. I would have to stay 2 nights in the hospital!

So how is my leg right now? Well, it is still not perfectly healed, but at least I can walk fairly normally. I can't run at all...my leg still can't handle impact. So, how could I just go rock climbing and biking in China? I don't know exactly...I did get tired doing those things, but I managed. They are low impact though which I think is what made the difference. I still can't even run a short distance to cross the street.

I didn't mention this before to anyone because I didn't want to cause a stir if it turned out to be nothing. It is sort of a relief now to get it off my chest. I will post again when I have more information about the next test.


My Brain 


My Big, Beautiful Brain 


Side View 

Rock Climbing!

On our last day in Yangshuo, we went ROCK CLIMBING!! How exciting is that? Audrey had rock climbed several times before, Grace had rock climbed once, and I had never rock climbed. Despite my inexperience, we booked some rock climbing guides and hired some equipment for only 180 Yuan...a little less than 25 US dollars. When we first decided on the expedition, I was completely not nervous at all, even though I had never done anything like it before. I figured I could handle myself after all of my trips with Dad when I was little. However, as we drove to the climbing spot and then hiked up to the Karst Peak we were going to climb, I could feel the butterflies coming alive in my stomach.

I started out on a 5-9 ascent, whatever that means. I just sort of started climbing...and about half way through I was stuck. My arms -- especially my forearms -- were completely exhausted. So, I just hung out for a little bit and then kept going. It took me a long time, but I made it to the top!! I was so proud of myself, I won't deny it! It was a great day. Our guides were really cool and patient with me. They brought an ipod and attached speakers to it so that we would have music, which I thought was pretty funny, cause there we were in China surrounded by fields and peasants with water buffalo passing by us, listening to a shiny littlen white ipod. Also with us was an Australian guy who had been travelling for about 6 months through China and an older Welsh guy who sold his house and has been travelling ever since. He had just spent the past 3 months in Nepal until it got too dangerous, then he headed through Tibet and finally made it to Yangshuo. He was quite an inspiring traveller! He said he is just going to keep on keeping on until he is too old or is too tired. I think that takes alot of guts at his age...hopefully he has a good nest egg saved. Maybe that is what Dad would have ended up doing...I don't think so though, cause Dad did like his life in LA and liked to do things that required money, like eat out at nice restaurants and go to bars and stuff.

The other cool thing about Yangshuo was this delicious dessert that we discovered...none of us had ever tried it before. There were tons of street stalls selling it, you could tell by the huge brass tea pots. Basically, the shop clerk would put a little bit of a watery white liquid in a cup, then pour a hot clear liquid from the tea pot. When the two liquids combined, it turned into a gelatious clear goo. Then you could choose any sort of topping to put on: black sesame powder, haw (like a firm fruit roll up) flakes, chopped peanuts, sugar, and golden raisins. I LOVED it! Grace and Audrey didn't like it as well as I did, but I have always had an affinity for gelatinous type things.


Grace with the rock climbing guide's dog 


The three of us after our rock climbing adventure! 


Audrey Rock Climbing! 

Li Jiang River Boat Ride to Yangshuo

After hanging out in Guilin for a few days, we took a river boat cruise that dropped us off in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is a little town near Guilin that is surrounded on all sides by Karst formations...they loom in the background so you can never quite forget where you are. The boat cruise was nice although slow and very touristy. There were like 10 other river boat cruises doing the same things as us! It was gorgeous even though the weather was gray and gloomy, and we got some spectacular views of the scenery. While we were on the boat someone was selling snake wine, which I didn't get because it was relatively expensive, but I did manage to get a picture.

The boat dropped us off in Yangshuo, and we settled into the Paradise Hotel, which was nice. It had pictures of Clinton and Bush Sr, both of whom have stayed there before! Yangshuo is the cutest little town...it had a very backpacker -ey sort of feeling, filled with travellers from all over the world. There is tons of stuff to do in Yangshuo and it is CHEAP so you can stay a while if you are interested. People come to go rockclimbing, rafting, hiking, and biking.

On our first afternoon we went on a bike tour with a local guide named Tao Ping. She was very nice and cheerful, and told us lots of information, of which I only understood about 10%. She spoke "English", but it was very difficult to understand. The bike ride was fabulous...we rode through farms and along little rivers through the Karst formations. It is fun to ride a bike, it made me miss Davis!

While we were in Yangshuo, we ate a ton of Beer Fish, which is a local specialty. It was delicious and pretty healthy too! It is basically a whole fish steamed in beer. It tastes great, not exactly like beer, but more of a rich taste. I love steamed fish...I think we must have eaten our weight in fish while we were in China!


Grace and Meagan eating lunch on boat 


Li Jiang River 


Men on Bamboo Boat 


Grace and Meagan About to Eat Beer Fish 


Grace, Audrey and Meagan with Tao Ping, our bike tour guide 


Audrey and Grace on our bike tour in Yangshuo 

Guilin

Some friends invited me to go to Guilin at the last minute, about three days before they were set to leave. I had never heard of Guilin, but I like to take any opportunity to travel somewhere new, so I decided to go. It was alot of fun! Guilin is supposed to have some of the most amazing scenery in China, full of Karst formations like the ones that Matt and I saw in Thailand in Phang Nga Ba. The Karst formations in Guilin on land instead of surrounded by water, but they still look very surreal and are filled with some amazing caves. We stayed at the Sheraton Guilin and it was very nice, right on the Li Jiang River and walking distance from a ton of shops and restaurants.

On our first day in Guilin we went to the Reed Flute Cave, which was huge and filled with stalactites and stalagmintes. It was pretty cool, alot like the caves that you can tour in the US. Since Guilin is a prime destination for Chinese tourists, the cave was packed with guided tours. Chinese tours involve large groups of people being led around like kids on a field trip, following a leader who carries a flag. All of the people on the tours wear something to identify them as part of the same group, so some will all wear matching hats or shirts or big stickers. It is pretty funny to watch.


Grace at entrance to Reed Flute Cave 


Audrey and Grace in Guilin 

Congratulations, Stacy and Bill!

I am so sad and yet elated at the same time today...my dear friend Stacy is getting married to Bill today! I am so happy for them, and yet so sad that I couldn't be there on their special day. I was living with Stacy in their pre-relationship stage, but I knew that they had something special and I always had faith that they would get together even when Stacy thought they never would! I am sure they are too busy to read my blog, but guys, Congratulations! I know your wedding will be beautiful! I will call you when things settle down.


The Beautiful Couple