Epic Adventures in Southeast Asia

Selamat pagi!  For those of you who have forgotten what you learned in your high school Malay language class, that means good morning!  We’ve just returned to Kuala Lumpur after a bit over a week of travelling around Malaysia and I thought it would be a good time to get everyone caught up on our adventures to date.  But before we get into that, a woefully inadequate and oversimplified Cliff Notes version of Malaysian history (all of which was new to me too). Hinduism and Buddhism from India and China dominated the early history of the Malay Peninsula, with Islam taking root in the 15th century.  European colonization began with the Portuguese in the early 16th century, followed by the Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries, and then the British in the 19th century.  The Japanese invasion during World War II was brutal and ended British rule in Malaya.  After the Allied victory in WWII, the British returned and spent more than a decade fighting a Communist Chi...

We returned home in March from our 3 months of Epic Escapades South of the Border, but we didn’t stay put for long! In late April we headed to Iceland for a couple of weeks - starting in the Westfjords - Iceland’s remote, northwestern peninsula, home to spectacular landscapes and abundant birdlife including a large nesting population of puffins (also known as “Clowns of the Sea” (highly recommended!). After that it was on to the Ring Road which circumnavigates the entire island and more amazing sights and adventures (along with lots of driving!).                Getting Melanie back up on a horse after her ill-fate ride on the beach in Costa Rica 2 years ago                                                                  Melanie’s first time driving a...