Learning Through Expeditions

     What a great last few days we've had in Langkawi. This evening we leave for Kuala Lumpur. I got up early in the morning and headed over to the beautifully serene Pantai Cenang Beach. I enjoyed my last few moments there in the waves. At last, I left the beach and headed towards the Underwater World Langkawi, the last attraction I wanted to see on the amazing island of Langkawi. As I went into the aquarium, I reminisced about the many things we did in Langkawi until now. From going to beaches to cablecars to even a trip in a mangrove, the past week has been an impeccable experience, except for freaking out in the cable car, of course.     I go into the aquarium not expecting much. My expectations were thrown out of the window, to say the least. The aquarium opened up into a beautiful lush tropical rainforest-like area, with trees and the correct humidity. I learned that this aquarium has all sorts of birds along with all sorts of marine life. I was dumbfounde...

      Crash! A large wave rolls over the side of the boat. Brrr! I'm drenched. Through my fogged-up glasses, I can barely make out the pristine waters of the Andaman Sea. I take a deep breath in and let it out all at once. I'm north of Langkawi Island, an island with an unbelievable equilibrium of natural and man-made structures. The sun is right overhead, and I'm speeding off in a boat through the mangroves of Langkawi. I've never been splashed with water droplets at such high speeds. What a thrill!     It's early in the morning. I'd just woken up. My family and I got ready by 9 o'clock and got on the road to Tanjung Rhu, a port in the northern part of the island.  The road was spectacular. Not literally the road itself, but rather the surroundings of it. It felt like a snaking path through lush, vibrant green rainforests with the soothing sounds of birds taking control over the rest of my senses. The drive was short and sweet, owing to our distracted sen...

       "The most dangerous thing you can do in life is to play it safe,"-Casey Neistat. It was my second day in Langkawi, and I was going to the world-famous Langkawi Skycab- the world's steepest cable car.   So I'll be honest, I'm terribly afraid of heights, especially when the altitudes start to cross 10 meters in height. Looking off into the sea...        I was tense. Absolutely tense. I have the option to overcome my fear. As always, I was about to take the easy way out, but this time didn't. I'd honestly shocked myself, boarding the cable car confidently. All of that went through the window as soon as we started. I'd made the rookie mistake of trying to overcome acrophobia. I forgot to follow the golden rule "Don't look down."  I looked down and hyperventilated!        At that altitude, I saw a picturesque scene. A lush green rainforest for kilometers, and then a deep blue ocean as far as the eye could see. ...

     Ring! The alarm rings to wake us up early in the morning. After enjoying the day in Kuala Lumpur we got up really early for our flight to Langkawi, an island in the state of Kedah. We arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2, for our 1-hour flight there. The flight there was a wonderful experience as we flew at a low altitude and could see below us. The ocean between the mainland and the island was quite beautiful. We landed quite smoothly at Langkawi International Airport in just about an hour.     Arriving in Langkawi and stepping out into the tropical climate was a good change of pace. We drove from the airport to our hotel room, a comfortable place to rest. I didn't plan on spending any of my days here inside! The hotel was located in an area called "Pantai Cenang"(Alternatively spelled Pantai Chenang), which upon being translated into English from Malay means, Cenang Beach. I dropped off my stuff, relaxing for a bit before heading out to the bea...

          Earlier this month, I traveled to Malaysia to visit my uncle for the first time. I landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Terminal 2(KLIA2), early on my first day there. Before going I had done my research and learned that the current in Malaysia is called the Ringgit. I reached my uncle's home after an hour of travel. During the drive, I found out that though Malay is the most spoken language, many people communicate in Tamil and Chinese too           Then, we went to Kuala Lumpur City Central, or KLCC for short. It took around half an hour. On the way, we glanced at Merdeka 118, the tallest tower in Malaysia. The first thing you see at KLCC is the Petronas Twin Towers. It took me a while to stop gazing at the tallest twin towers in the world. They were so tall and so well-designed. It looked amazing. Behind the buildings is a pond with a spectacular light and fountain show. The fountain show is short but marv...

Buddhavanam I visited Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and its surrounding areas recently. It was quite the experience. On my first day there I visited this large area, 15 minutes away from the dam, dedicated to Lord Buddha. It's called "Buddhavanam".  I visited in summer and that too during the morning hours, around 11:00. It was sweltering hot. But the experience was worth it. It is basically like a park themed on Gautam Buddha's Life. There was this large meditation room. It was insane. I am not the greatest meditator, but the grandeur of the room and the ambiance made me want to sit down and meditate. Meditation Room Outside there were so many different informative tidbits and objects. I only had about an hour there and I wish I had more time to spend there and explore. It was a great place for me to visit as I love to learn through my travels.  I learned a lot about the life of Lord Buddha.  It was quite a lot to take in.   The highlights include the main meditation area and...