Cameron Highlands::: butterfly farm

the cameron highlands are known for their many species of butterflies and insects- we visited a butterfly farm and had a photo extravaganza::

here are some of the best shots

us soaking wet from our rain drenched jungle hike

pupae hang down from the ceiling turning these ugly caterpillars into beautiful butterflies!!

Cameron Highlands::: tea plantations & jungle trekking

The cameron highlands in the heart of Malaysia are well over a mile high.

Mazes of tea plantations cover the rolling hills

It is very beautiful country and cold enough to enjoy a great cup of tea!

as part of our tour we took a hike through a 230 million year old forest/jungle. unfortunately it poured buckets while we were in there so we were up to our ankles in mud and were not able to take many pictures


the little white spots are the workers out harvesting the tea leaves

some less green factory photos::
here the tea is being agitated to release oils and give it flavor and aroma

drying of the tea leaves


sorting and grading of the tea

Sentosa:: pink dolphin lagoon & aquarium

Sentosa is an island off of singapore which has been claimed as one giant resort. It boasts the best beaches, an aquarium, & pink dolphin lagoon among other high end amenities.

This is the sort of picture we saw advertising the pink dolphins....
this is more what they look like at the lagoon

they become more grey with maturity

joe playing with the rays

a sea angel


giant japanese spider crab (it was about 2-3 feet wide!!)

pretty metallic fish (forgot the name!!)

sharks!

Singapore:: country, city, clean & crazy

Singapore is a beautiful city gum is illegal and the streets and buildings sparkle. It is also very expensive for asia (and often america).

We started out our adventure at the famous Raffles hotel where we had a Singapore Sling made the same as the very first one at the Long Bar.

It only cost S$ 22 (about $15 us!!!!) each

Joe enjoying a $ 16 burger
singapore is an old colonial city and many of the buildings, especially those in Chinatown, are original colonials

a cute little place for an expensive cupcake
(i think claire would approve!!)

how to find me in the singapore metro station




river walk with the famous/notorious esplanade building in the background
on friday & saturday nights they open up part of the metro station for bmx & break dancing





we took a cable car from the resort island sentosa to downtown

amazing (and scary) views from the cable car

singapore has the worlds largest fountain-- as it looks like a giant sprinkler it is not that impressive....in this picture they have it on a horizontal setting where they have lazor light messages & "i love yous"