As a follow-up to the 1980's Lester Stickers!! posting, here are my awesome Lester Kasai skateboards!

As with last year, my summer did get pretty busy with work trips which dramatically hampered my opportunity to get out on the river. Fortunately, this years travel has been much more exciting; including several trips to Asia.

So, on Wednesday afternoon I engaged Roger in a chat session and we quickly decided that we would get out on the river on Saturday. In those three days we ended up changing our trip several times, but finally settled on the Chattahoochee River Headwaters to Lake Lanier section that starts at Nora Mill Dam and heads down to Hwy 255 for a total of 9.5 miles.

Usually, we scope out the put-in and take-out sites ahead of time with actually driving out to see what the conditions are, but we were optimistic we would easily be able to put in at the downriver side of the Dam.

Unfortunately, the plethora of Private Property - No Trespassing signs suggested we would need to find another spot to put-in. Roger and I surveyed several spots and then decided on one of the two least-terrible options and got started. Thankfully, no bloody knees or elbows!!

We were quickly rewarded with a beautiful scene that we saw throughout our 9.5 mile journey that took us a bit over three hours to complete.

I was reading Joe Cook’s Chattahoochee River User’s Guide and he called out that the Helen river gauge needs to be reporting 100+ ft³/s in order to run this section. It was showing just under that on Friday night so we decided to just go for it and hope for the best. As these next two pictures show, there were plenty of sections that were just to shallow to run, but it was nice to stretch our legs every once and a while.

The most unusual sight of the day was this old car frame!

This stretch of the Chattahoochee is relatively narrow and shaded (reminds me a lot of The Etowah River) with LOTS of trees leaning into, and sometimes over, the river.

Including this “navigational hazard” that we had to go up & over.

This upper section of the river is lined with expensive and secluded estates and most of them had great river access setups that made me envious.

Although… some of them just looked painful…

Interestingly enough, other than seeing fish below us, I really noticed an almost total lack of wildlife on this day. I was happy to see some geese on a shoal.

We were fortunate that while we could stay in the boats and paddle we were greeted with a river flow rarely found downriver in the ATL50 - Canoeing thru the Chattahoochee River NRA section.

I really enjoyed seeing these old bridge pilings.

And I got a kick out of this rope bridge some folks setup for themselves.

All in all, a great day on the river with a great buddy; Roger. It doesn’t get much better than that!

As I had documented in Seoul Long Layover #1: Temples, I had another 12 hour stop in Seoul, South Korea. Just as before, I took advantage of the free transition tours hosted by the airport. This time I signed up for the “Tradition” tour whose primary focus was on Gyeongbokgung Palace. Instead of me rambling about my wanders around this gigantic complex with tons of structures, let me just shared some photos as each is worth 1000 words.

What a truly marvelous place where I took over 100 photos while walking around. Next up, we had lunch…

Did a little shopping…

Wandered around the city a bit…

And finally headed back to the airport where I had a few hours to relax in the lounge before it was time to go home…

I was so glad to be able to spread out and get some rest on the way home. I was asleep after the first meal (and an hour into the flight) and did not wake up until 10 hours later over Kansas with only two hours left on my flight home. What a relief and boy did my body need some serious sleep.

These free tours are real treat for anyone who is facing hours of wait time in Seoul before the next leg of their journey and I highly recommend them. This day trip was an awesome way to finish off my adventures in Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea.

After my Don't Mess With Melaka and Singapore - The Lion City day trips, what was I all fired up to do that got me up VERY early for the THIRD day in a row? Well, I was fortunate enough to have a person take me on a personal tour of the Batu Caves and with a sight like this greeting visitors… you would have got up early again, too!

Heck, you would have even taking a selfie like I did!

My guide for the day was Dr Ganthan Narayana (red shirt in following picture) who teaches at UTM and Dr Pritheega Magalingam & her husband were so kind so shuttle me into Kuala Lumpur from my hotel early in the morning. 1000 thanks to all three of them!

As I stated in an earlier blog posting, I truly cannot say enough nice things about the kindness and professionalism displayed from EVERYONE in the class I was fortunate enough to lead them through.

After soaking in the breathtaking 140 foot tall statue of Lord Murugan it was time to walk up the 272 steps.

Besides seeing other folks huffing & puffing like me (well, most not as bad as me!) we were greeted with monkeys along the whole staircase. I was a bit nervous to get too close as these little monkeys can be pretty intense and are so much stronger than most of us think.

Lots of folks were taking pictures standing beside the monkeys and I knew I made the right choice of NOT doing this when I saw a monkey rip out an earring from a fella who thought he was JUST going to get a great picture; now he has a ?great? story to tell – and an earring to replace!

Yes, more steps… more monkeys…

I was so happy to reach the top!!

Ganthan and I were greeted with some beautiful sights at the entrance of the caves.

Walking into the main cave, I was surprise at the size of the cavern. Most of the structures and temples were undergoing renovations, but it was clear how beautiful they were even covered up.

Then I had ANOTHER set of stairs as shown above and below. Thankfully, there were far fewer than the ones leading to the entrance of the caves.

More great views (and monkeys) from this upper cavern!!

One the way back down we say MANY MORE monkeys!! Even some babies!!

We found another very cool temple at the base of the stairs.

And yep, ANOTHER cool temple!

With another very awesome Hanuman Statue (yep, I had to take another selfie!).

Wait… What… ANOTHER temple?!?! OF COURSE!!

Just to the right of this was the entrance to the Ramayana Caves. Yes, that’s ANOTHER selfie!!

It was just as cool inside with so many handcrafted statues and figures.

I was so happy that Ganthan had a great time, too. He said it has been years since he was inside and he was pleasantly surprised at all the work that had been done to beautify this cave. He admitted he was excited to bring his children to visit for the first time.

We then headed over to the beautiful campus of UTM.

We headed to the top of the campus' main building to the observation deck where I got some nice pictures of the Pretronas Twin Towers and the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

I did not get a chance to visit the observation deck of the Twin Towers as it was closed on Mondays. Yes, poor planning on my part! Haha! All in all, this was a great day and it was a pure joy to see the Batu Caves. I am also very appreciative of the generosity of Doctors Narayana and Magalingam. Thank you both so much!!

The day after my Don't Mess With Melaka outing, I was at it again with another full-day of getting out there and enjoying Southeast Asia. I took at 7:30am flight from Kuala Lumpur over to Singapore. Here’s a quick FUN FACT about Singapore!

Being a fan of the water, I decided to start the day by taking a DUCK & HiPPO tour and got to see a ton of iconic structures.

The views from the Marina Bay were incredible and showcased this very sophisticated and urban landscape.

The ArtScience Museum above is one of the most iconic structures in the Marina Bay, but the most well known sight is the Merlion statue.

We drove around the city a bit after leaving the water before ending the tour.

I then went to Chinatown.

Plenty of interesting architecture in addition to lots of shopping.

A trip to Chinatown would not be complete without having a traditional dim sum meal.

And yes, more beautiful architecture.

Singapore, like Malaysia, is a mixture of peoples from Indonesia, China and India so it is no wonder there is the beautiful Sri Mariamman Temple right in the middle of Chinatown.

I then headed back over to the beautiful Marina Bay area in time for dusk to start settling in.

If you look just to the left of center of the following picture you can see the beautiful Merlion statue on the other side of the bay. I enjoyed the relaxing walk around the bay to eventually make it to the Merlion.

And, I finally, made to the other side to see the Merlion up and close!!

Then it was time to head to the airport to catch the 11pm flight back to Kuala Lumpur. What a fun day indeed and I have a third fast-paced day of sightseeing lined up for tomorrow, too!! What a fun trip indeed!

As mentioned at the beginning of Seoul Long Layover #1: Temples, I headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with almost zero notice, but I had an INCREDIBLE time teaching to a project team made up of brilliant folks from government, CyberSecurity Malaysia, and academia, UTM.

I was also blessed with one gentleman, Khairol Faisal, being so generous to offer up an entire day from his very busy schedule to take me to Melaka!

Mini Malaysia & ASEAN Cultural Park Melaka

Our first stop of the day was the Malaysian Cultural Park.

As Khairol is pointing out, a big focus of the cultural center is the different types of homes that were traditionally found in each of the states. Here are a couple of these beautiful structures. I was lucky to experience first-hand some traditional food and games from a few of the states.

I even learned to perform some of the traditional work!!

I especially liked the performances and getting to meet these awesome folks.

I’m leaving out all the video of my on-stage “participation”, but I really enjoyed getting to use the blowgun!! I sure hope Khairol deleted those movies like he promised he would!!

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Melaka is honored by being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site and at the center of it all is a large complex of historic building & monuments plus multiple museums devoted to the history of Malaysia. Of course, not all you will see in Melaka is “historic”…

The museum complex entrance is down by the river, but quickly climbs the hills of the city.

I learned a lot about the historic hand-weapons of Malaysia. These are very deadly instruments indeed and every nook & cranny have a purpose (all focus on injuring or killing an opponent).

The museum complex continues to rise up in the hills and offers even more beautiful views.

Eventually the highest point is reached and you are treated with St Paul’s Church.

From on top of this hill you can see the A’Fomosa Fort below.

And, of course, you can take the stairs down to see this fort from the 1500’s up close and personal.

Once at the bottom of the hill, the logical next stop is the Sultanate Palace and the beautiful grounds around it.

Jonker Street

We then strolled down Jonker Street where we saw many interesting sights; and a couple of weird ones!

The Dreaded Durian!!

At the end of Jonker Street, Khairol found what he was looking for – and what I was avoiding. Yes, the “interesting” fruit called a durian.

Yes, I decided to be a grateful guest and give this… thing… a try!

As I reported rather quickly to Khairol; it was not terrible, but I did not like it.

I did have a little fun when a small tour group walked by and their guide pointed out the durian on our table. I decided to have a second piece and profess how yummy it was. Their tour guide laughing stated that none of them were willing to give it a try, so I made them all freak out when I started announcing it was “finger licking good” and I, in fact, licked my fingers clean. It did taste a bit better when I wasn’t thinking about it, but I stand by my original “not like” comment.

Putra Square

We drove the two hours back to Kuala Lumpur and reached the Putra Square area just at dusk where we are able to see the Prime Minister’s residence and the Putra Mosque and adjacent lake.

We finished the very long, but incredibly educational and fun, day sharing a meal overlooking the lake.

Khairol, and for that matter the entire class I was fortunate enough to teach, is an incredible ambassador for Malaysia and I can’t wait to return he favor when he visits Atlanta!

Other than my two trips to India (see Bangalore: My Farthest & Yet, Quickest Business Trip Yet) this year, I have never been to Southeast Asia. Knowing that, I cannot say I was upset when I got the call on Friday afternoon for a project in Malaysia that would require me to start flying the very next day. About 24 hours later I was on a trip headed to my transit stop; Seoul, South Korea. Fortunately, I slept for a long while and awoke with about five hours left on a 14 hour journey.

As we got closer, I did learn a valuable lesson…

Once I finally got to the Seoul airport I tried the crazy milk-soda Milkis and I actually enjoyed it!

For my 12 hour layover, I was thrilled to find out they offered Free Transit Tours. These mirrored my original plans of things to see, but with the added benefit of a motor coach taking me to where I needed to go and allowing me to leave my carry-on luggage securely in the bus.

The first stop of the day was Samnangseong Castle.

The second stop of the day was Deokjin-jin Fortress.

These two temples had a similar look to them and were being maintained very well. What a great way to spend a layover and I cannot wait to do another tour on my way back when I have another 12 hour transit stop.

After a few hours chilling in the Korean Air lounge, I caught the second, and final, leg of my trip – down to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.