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Kuala Lumpur
Merdeka Square (a.k.a.The Plaza) Kuala Lumpur After a seven hour train ride from Singapore, we arrived in Kuala Lumpur ready to find a place to stay. A taxi attempted to take us to Hotel Chinatown Inn, but we ended up being dropped off at the far end of a night market with instructions that it was somewhere "down there". Imagine Wal-Mart, with even smaller aisles and even more people, and everywhere you turn there's a man with a Rolex, Louis Vuitton handbags, Dior sunglasses, and DVDs claiming to give you a "special price" because you're the "first sale of the day". When we finally bumped and shoved our way to our hotel, we were ready to get out of the market and into a nice bed. After a good night's sleep, we spent the next day, walking around Chinatown and perusing through a thousand shops all selling the same things. After a lot of walking and shopping, we got pretty hungry. We read about a nice vegetarian restaurant in Chinatown within walking distance from our hotel. We decided to try to find it. About an hour later, we found it, and realized that Lonely Planet had it an eighth of an inch to the
Batu Caves
Kissing the Snake left on the map from where it really was located--which is a huge deal when you have limited street signs and no idea where you're going. But Fatt Yan was a great restaurant with lots of choices and great prices. I had tofu spicey chicken, and Billy, of course, had fried rice and vegetables. It was very fulfilling after a long day of walking. That evening, we walked down to Merdeka Square and hung out amidst the fountains and lighted buildings. I felt like I was at home at the plaza when it's all lit up at Christmastime . . .you know, minus the whole "cold weather" thing.
An Amazing Race--Batu Caves After watching the Amazing Race All-Stars in the U.S., we decided to find our "next clue" the next day at the Batu Caves. It's a Hindu Temple inside of a cave in northern Kuala Lumpur. To get into the cave, you must climb the 272 stairs to reach the top (yes, Billy counted to make sure!). Once past the tall golden statue and up the "short" stairway, the view from the top was incredible. We could see downtown KL, and the breeze was a welcome break from the
extreme midday heat. After a sip from an Orange F&N, I held a python, so Billy could take some pictures of me reminiscent Britney Spears circa 2001. I got "red-dotted" (or whatever) by an Indian guy at the top of the cave. As we went deeper into the cave, we saw a few local monkeys. Every tourist was feeding them and taking pictures. I'm sure they get plenty to eat, so we didn't surrender any of our precious food. We did take their picture before we headed back out of the cave.
Twin Towers The last day we were in KL, we went to the Petronas Towers (made famous in "Entrapment" with Catherine Zeta Jones and Sir Sean Connery). It was amazing! In between the two towers is a fantastic shopping mall (six levels!). It had all the haute coutre brands found in the night markets, only they were real. We walked around there long enough for me to get a sweet pedicure (only two hours long!--enough time for Billy to make a few trips around the mall!), and we got a delicious breakfast at a French bakery. After some morning shopping, we went up the towers to the observation
Pulau Kecil
The view from our chalet. bridge. It's 42 floors above the groundlevel which is roughly halfway up the 88 story buildings. The elevator moved at lightening speed . . .1 floor per second! We were zooming! Once down on the shopping level again, we stood in line for an hour to buy movie tickets (you know that would not go over well in the U.S.!). Since Spiderman 3 was sold out for the day, we decided to take Debbie's advice and saw the movie "Wild Hogs". To our surprise, it was actually a very funny movie. Billy's now looking for a cologne that is a mix of musky and woodsy . . .you know, like a lawyer/cowboy. 😊 We are probably the only people in the world who stood in line for an hour to see this movie. To kill time waiting for our movie to start, we went to an American favorite: Chili's. We devoured the chips and salsa, and Billy was able to watch a little bit of NBA play-off basketball. We left Kuala Lumpur at 9:00 a.m. and heading out on a very nice bus to Kota Bahru--on the northeast coast of Malaysia. We were off to bask in the sun on
Kuala Lumpur
Merdeka Square--Lighted Palms the tropical beaches of Pulau Perhentian.
Kuala Besut via Kota Bahru After an eight hour bus ride through the jungles of Malaysia, we arrived in Kota Bahru. A taxi immediately took us down to the fishing village of Kuala Besut about an hour south. We stayed in a dodgy hotel called Hotel Nan. Hey, at least there was an attached bathroom! We walked around the town, which had obviously closed down a few hours before we arrived, and finally found a place to eat. I was suspect of their food, but Billy gladly ate . . .you guessed it . . .fried rice and vegetables! A night stroll and two Cornettos later, we headed off to bed.
Pulau Kecil The next morning, we got up at 6:15 a.m. to catch the speed boat out to the island of Kecil (meaning "small island"). Cherrie would have loved the ride. We nearly died . . .imagine taking a ski boat out on the ocean with four foot waves and pushing the throddle down, full speed ahead, fast and straight all the way for 30 minutes! Eventually, we made it--safe and sound. We were dropped off at Long Beach, but we didn't like
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Hindu Golden Image the look of it. We decided to hike across the island through the jungle filled with giant spiders, pit vipers--we learned of this later--and komodo dragons. By the time we reached Coral Bay, we were HOT; it was humid and the sun was burning! We found a place to stay at a nice beach resort called "Senja Bay". It was a nice room, but the hike to the top via sketchy stairs (reminiscent "Booty Bay" in W.O.W.) was a bit long and very hot. The water was perfectly clear and warm like bath water. The following three days were basically the same. We did a good amount of snorkeling, some kayaking, and a lots of laying in the sun. We finished three books altogether, and had plenty of time to play Settler and cards. The food on the island was pretty good . . .minus the mayonnaise overload. We even got brave enough to try a mango shake . . .it was delicious! Our last night presented us with a huge lightening and thunderstorm. It was so cool! The wind and weather cooled down our room about 10 degrees for which we were definitely thankful. Currently, we are waiting for
Batu Caves
Hey, who let the monkies into the Temple? a bus and eventually we will end up in Thailand on the island of Ko Pha-Ngan. Enjoy the pictures!
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Mom H
non-member comment
great times
Hi kids, It sounds like you are having a wonderful time full of adventures. Bill, you should have your fill of fried rice by the time a year rolls around, just wait for the Kimchie!!! We are definitely enjoying the pictures as well as all your news Tasha, keep it up. Dad is in South Philippines and I'm home and all is well, have lots of fun! Love you both. Mom