The Other Side of the World

Hello friends and family,

I hope to make this blog a travel log and means of communication to keep in touch with all of you this summer. I am in Cabodia now (arrived on Sunday evening) and will be here through early August, interning for a human rights organization. I shoul have regular internet access, and I love messages from home, so please post comments and send email. And in case there is some urgent need to contact me, I do have a cell phone here (011 + 855-092-398-852 --> with country code and exit code for the U.S.). So, here is brief overview of the last couple weeks and look forward to what I expect for the summer. Enjoy!

After about 24 hours of exhausting travel, far too long spent cramped into economy on a couple ANA flights, and an interesting layover at Tokyo Narita (an airport which features noise-cancelling toilets and lots of free samples of whiskey), Ian and I made it to Singapore late on a Sunday night. We reported for class early the next morning at National University of Singapore and spent the rest of the week in classes (mostly comparative law, trade law, negotiations, and information technology law) and exploring the city. We made trips to Singapore's Little India and Chinatown, visited two Hindu temples dedicated to the goddess Kali, explored the Pagoda street market (which used to be a central area for prostitution and opium consumption for Chinese laborers). We also had some tasty food from a number of Asian countries (Chinese, Indian, Japanese, etc.), visited several "hawker centers" (areas where dozens of food stalls sell a variety of delicious dishes for very cheap prices), had a Singapore Sling at the Long Bar in the Raffle Hotel (the hotel that invented the drink), and made a trip to the Asian Civilizations Museum for a look at art, culture, and history from across the continent. I have developed a new-found obsession for merlions, half fish-half lion hybrids, which are a symbol of the city-state of Singapore. On Friday of the first week, we took a class field trip to the courts and got to sit in on a couple of bail hearings. I am fascinated by Singapore's strict code of laws, which is based on the English common law system. Drug trafficking (loosely defined) is punishable by death, and prosecutors have the option to appeal an acquittal. You can be fined for a number of lesser offenses, including jaywalking, chewing gum on the train, and (my favorite) urinating in elevators. Tons of souvenir t-shirts feature the phrase, "Singapore is a FINE city." (hardy har har)

On Friday of the first week, we left for Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. We took a luxury bus line, and another student on our program (Ben from SMU) joined us. We got into KL around 9:30 on Friday, and found our way to a guest house. Over the course of the weekend, we visited the Petronas Towers (sparkling twin towers that feature a "sky bridge" on levels 41 and 42, connecting the two structures -- built by the national oil company of Malaysia), visited several mosques, strolled through the KL bird park (and accidentally through a hibiscus garden park), saw members of the military preparing for some sort of celebration to be held in Independence Square (aptly named because that is where Malaysia declared independence from colonial rule), and went up in the KL Tower (roughly looks like the Seattle space needle) to glimpse the city at night. On Sunday, I met up with Nazri, a friend from UT. He drove us around the city and showed us Putrajaya, the newly built (and intricately planned) administrative capital of Malaysia. Then, he accompanied us to the Batu Caves (a Hindu religious site). We climbed the 272 steps to the top for a nice view of the city and peek inside the massive caverns. After dinner at a place specializing in sate (various meats grilled on wooden skewers), we traipsed around the huge mall located at the base of the Petronas Towers before boarding the bus back to Singapore and arriving at about 4:30 Monday morning.

Our last week in Singapore, the program paid for us to go on the Night Safari (a zoo filled with nocturnal animals from around the world -- not quite as cool as South Africa last summer) and took us out for a nice dinner at a delicious Indian restaurant, where I tried fish head curry(not quite my cup of tea). We also took time to walk around the city, to see, among other things, the spiky-roofed art center known as the Esplanade and the huge merlion fountain on the riverfront. On Friday, we took our "final" for the course (a bit of a joke) and had lunch at an American-style diner, where we both ordered the "Obama's American Burger" (they really love Obama here, so hopefully that's a good sign... We also made a visit to the Buddhist Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (with a stunning rooftop garden featuring 10,000 tiny Buddha statues) and enjoyed mojitos at a bar called Cuba Libre in the trendy Clark Quay area. Ian also had the guts to try the bungee ride which catapults you in the air and flips you all around as you bounce several stories above the ground. I said no thanks. Saturday was our last full day in Singapore, and we met up with a couple of girls from the program to go to Sentosa Island, which is an amusement park of sorts. The coolest thing on the island was our visit to Fort Siloso, home to a number of British soldiers, up until the Japanese invasion during WWII. That evening, we saw Kung Fu Panda in one of the nicest (and largest) theatres I have ever visited. Sunday, we walked around Fort Canning Park, a large green oasis in the middle of the city, and visited the Battle Box, an underground bunker used by British commanders before they surrendered to the Japanese.

Sunday evening, we caught our flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and were met at the airport by Heleyn, a French woman who worked with Santa Clara Law to help us get our internships. She gave us a ride to our guest house (The Boddhi Tree) and gave us a brief orientation to Phnom Penh (PP). Ian began his internship on Monday morning, and I walked with him to his office, and then walked along the riverfront, past some of the major PP attractions. I acquired a nasty sunburn along the way, and I've been kicking myself for forgetting to wear sunscreen. In the afternoon, Ian got back early, and we went to the Russian Market (a large marketplace with stalls selling everything from clothing to produce). My internship doesn't start until Thursday, so I've spent time reading up about the city (and reading just for fun), as well as trying to locate a more permanent residence (hopefully some sort of apartment) for our stay. Yesterday I went to a different marketplace and purchased a radio so I can listen to the BBC news radio station and try to maintain some sort of connection with the world. The time in Cambodia is exactly 12 hours ahead of Chicago and Texas; so in my estimation, that's the other side of the world. I hope you have a wonderful night, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Love from Cambodia,

Katie