I'm back! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and thank YOU for returning to QLC.

I had some time to really think about all the things I'm thankful for while spending Thanksgiving break in Malaysia. Living in Nanjing and doing grad work in Mandarin is no picnic, and it's often easy to become overwhelmed and gripe about everything -- the 50 pages of Chinese reading my professor just assigned, oil-soaked cafeteria food, pollution haze, internet censorship...

Having a week-long break from school gave me the chance to reflect on all the opportunities I've been given. Education is monumentally important to me, and I could not be here this year without the help of a generous one-year fellowship and -- of course -- the continuing love and support of my parents, who have always encouraged me to gain a complex view of the world, through school, travel and beyond.

That said, both my parents' jobs have been affected by the financial crisis and money is tight. Fortunately, Asia is a good place to be if you're on a budget. My friends and I settled on Malaysia, where the food is hot, the people are friendly, the beaches are beautiful and where you can get a meal for less than $3 and a hotel room for less than $10 a night.

The first thing that amazed me about Malaysia was the ethnic diversity. About 50 percent of the population is Malay, but Indians and Chinese (whose ancestors came to Malaysia several generations ago) are also present in large numbers.

That ethnic mixing makes for a smorgasbord of delectable dishes, including this Indian curry and nan bread ($5), which we sampled in Penang.

One of the most popular sites in Kuala Lumpur is the Petronas Twin Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004. They are still the tallest twin buildings in the world.

The tour to the connecting bridge is free (here's a view from the bridge). Before taking the tour, everyone is shown a video about Petronas, a government-owned company that has control of all the oil and gas resources in Malaysia.

From KL, we traveled to Penang where we visited the famous Snake Temple (also free!). My dad, a southeast Asia buff, visited Malaysia years ago and insisted that we check out this site.

The temple is filled with highly venomous pit vipers, who are said to be rendered harmless by the incense. Even so, there are plenty of signs warning tourists not to mess with the snakes.

(I'm going to have nightmares for weeks.)

The temple also houses a snake farm ($1.50 admission) with many types of highly venomous snakes behind glass and a gigantic python names Big Mama.

No, he wasn't being eaten -- the guy who tends to Big Mama was trying to get her to move for us.

George Town, Penang is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also home to the beautiful 19th-century Kapitan Keling Mosque.

Malaysia is filled with outdoor food courts offering every kind of food, from Chinese to Indian to Filipino to Italian to Thai. They're lively spots at night, with people eating and drinking well into the evening.

I had tom yum soup ($3) and fresh mango juice ($1). You could select your own ingredients to be put in the hot sweet-and-sour broth.

Penang has its own special laksa ($1), made with tamarind, lemongrass, pineapple, chili and prawn paste in a mackerel soup base.

From Penang, we took a 3-hour boatride to the island of Pulau Langkawi.

About 60 percent of Malaysia's population is Muslim; many women wore headscarves and some wore full burqas. This presented an interesting contrast, especially with the bikini-clad tourists on Langkawi.

Langkawi has the world's steepest cable car ($10 admission), which takes visitors 700m above sea level.

For about $20 per person, we got a 2-hour boat tour of Langkawi's wildlife, including wild eagles, monkeys and bats. The monkeys were used to tourists and this one sat on the prow of our boat. (Picture courtesy of Ryan, whose camera is much fancier than mine.)

Of course, the best free attraction is Langkawi's beautiful beaches.

Last dinner in Malaysia: nasi goreng or "fried rice" with papadum chips ($1.50) and fresh mango juice ($1). The food was so flavorful -- Malaysians really know how to use spices to make even ordinary dishes awesome.

Of course, I picked up some souvenirs -- and possible Christmas gifts. (From upper left: black cloth shoulder bag with coconut shell elephant decoration, $8; leather bracelets, $5 each; cloth elephant keychains, $1 each; batik bookmarks, $2 each; batik and photo postcards, 5 for $3.)

So while I didn't spend my vacation on a cruise or in an all-inclusive resort, or even eat turkey, I did get to eat delicious food, tour many historical and cultural sites, soak up the sun and get to know a part of the world that I had never seen before. And for that, I am especially thankful.