‘Blogs from abroad’ CategoryPage 2


Hear about the experiences of members of the Gustavus community traveling abroad!


Melaka: The historical city

View from the Melaka Riverboat Cruise On Friday, March 21st, the Gusties rolled into Melaka at about 4pm after a long 8 hours on the bus. Ironically, after falling in and out of naps to stop and eat at truck stops along the way, a few of us decided we were tired and hungry upon […]

Batu Caves

On Monday, March 24th we left our hotel in Kuala Lumpur and arrived at our destination of the Batu Caves around 9:30 AM. The Batu Caves is located just outside of Kuala Lumpur and can be described as a massive limestone hill with a series of caves and a Hindu temple and shrine.  It is […]

Kuala Lumpur Tower

While on our trip to Kuala Lumpur (the capitol of Malaysia) the group stopped at the KL tower. We were very fortunate to get our own personal tour guide, after telling some of the employees that we were a group of students from America. Before going to the top, the group watched a short video […]

Herping at Perlis State Park

On our weekend trip to Perlis State Park, we had the opportunity to go herping both Friday and Saturday night. Herping is the act of searching for amphibians and reptiles. We went at night because it is easiest to find these animals when it is cooler outside so they do not have to be in […]

Kuala Kangsar

The Gusties were up bright and early this morning with a 7 am departure time from the USM campus to head towards Kuala Kangsar. It was a busy but enjoyable day, with 3 main stops. We started the day at a traditional shop selling pottery made from clay from a local kampung. We were able […]

Perlis State Park- An Outdoor Weekend

Hello! Friday the 7th through Sunday the 10th the Gustavus troupe made a long pilgrimage to Perlis State Park. It is located in Perlis (the northernmost state) right on the border to Thailand. I really enjoyed this trip; it was a very nice to get out of the city and enjoy nature. Upon arrival we […]

Spelunking @ Perlis State Park

This past weekend, the 12 of us and the faculty/staff of USM headed to Perlis State Park in Kaki Bukit, Perlis, Malaysia! Among the various outings, Spelunking in particular happened on Sunday morning! In case you were wondering, spelunking is also known as caving! To reach the cave, we trekked about 2 miles from our cabins […]

Visit to the Gandhi Ashram

Yesterday evening we were invited to meet Dr. Anwar Fazal, a lifelong teacher and social activist from Penang. We met at the Gandhi Ashram, dedicated to the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi, and were greeted with a fresh coconut each as a welcoming refreshment. After a discussion and a walk in the beautiful Penang […]

Hike to Monkey Beach

  Today twelve of us hiked into the Penang National Park, from the entrance at Teluk Bahang out to the famous Monkey Beach. The 5 km trek in, which followed the coastline, was full of uneven terrain, rocks, fallen trees, and lots of ups and downs! We managed to reach there in about an hour […]

The first 10 days

Our first 10 days here in Penang, Malaysia have been a whirlwind. From the food to the heat to the languages to the city, we have all had so many new experiences and already have some great stories. During orientation at the Hyatt Place in Minneapolis, we took a field trip to the Midtown Global […]