Couchsurfing in Langkawi

On November 1, 2013November 5, 2013 By ambertravelingIn Animals, Asia, Backpacking, Couchsurfing, Uncategorized2 Comments

With 8 dogs and 37 cats, Jeff’s house is not your typical couch surfing pad.

We arrived on the island of Langkawi by a nauseating 3-hour boat ride. Jeff met us at a pizza shop and showed us to his house, a quaint two bedroom nestled in a little patch of forest. Wild monkeys greeted us from the trees.

Resting on the hammocks on his porch, one of his cats clambered onto my lap, and Jeff told us his story.

This story was published on WeSaidGoTravel. To read the whole story, click here.

A secret waterfall spot where locals (and us!) were jumping in

Favorite breakfast spot, with Indian, Chinese, Malaysian options

Waking up to the dogs while couchsurfing in Malaysia

Tour of a Buddhist Temple

Frinjan: Anarchists in KL

On October 19, 2013January 14, 2014 By ambertravelingIn Asia, Backpacking, Couchsurfing, Writings3 Comments

The walls of their apartment are splattered with colorful posters, bookshelves stocked with controversial texts, and a myriad self-published zines for sale. This is the headquarters for Frinjan, a small group of artists and activists living in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

“We don’t believe in monetary exchange,” says Farhan, one of the leaders of the group. “We want to provide a platform for artists and NGO’s in our home, and through our connections with social media.”

Farhan and his friends host couchsurfers in a spare room, which means they have dozens of foreigners coming through every few weeks to learn about their causes.

They also hold events at their home for artists and activists such as poetry slams and art exhibitions. At markets around Kuala Lumpur they sell zines and books that have been banned by the Malaysian government. We bought one called “Homeless by Choice,” an account from a college professor who slept on the streets and beaches for a year to learn about homelessness.

You can check out their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Frinjan. Thanks for hosting us, Farhan and friends!

Famous Petronas Towers

Living room

Sharing breakfast with us

Bonus photo, Mosque in KL

Zines

buttons for sale

Mangrove Yoga Ashram

On October 10, 2013January 14, 2014 By ambertravelingIn Australia, Spirituality, Writings4 Comments

For a blissful week of relaxation I volunteered at a yoga ashram outside of Sydney. Our days were planned out for us:

5:30 yoga, 7:00 breakfast, 7:45 chanting, 8:00 karma yoga, 9:30 volunteering, 11:00 morning tea, 12:30 lunch, 1:30 volunteering, 2:30 yoga nidra, 3:00 afternoon tea, 5:15 yoga, 6:00 dinner, 7:15 kirtan, 8:15 mouna

For karma yoga, we would all gather in the morning to chant Om and then clean up or help in the kitchen, selfless tasks that didn’t seem like chores at all in the loving and supportive context of the ashram. Yoga nidra is a guided meditation, where you lie on the floor and are directed to focus on various parts of your body.

Kirtan is a music session where everybody participates in call and response song in Sanskrit. Mouna is a mandatory silence, every evening from 8:15 until 7:30 the next morning, which gives you time to focus on yourself.

The volunteer projects were varied from working in the garden, bush regeneration, kitchen, or housekeeping. The schedule helped alleviate planning, which is easily the most stressful thing about traveling for me. We met some great people, too! I would have loved to stay longer!