http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/wandring1/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from wandring1 en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:31:50 +0000 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:31:50 +0000 Monkeys on the hillMonkeys cluster around us. We feed them plant stems that they love. They take the food right out of my hand. No biting. These silverleaf monkeys clamber all over the old cannons and on the road at Malawati Hill. The young energetic ones jump from tree to tree.A baby wanders too far from its mother. She swipes it back from the monkey that is playing with it. Its hair is a light http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-413076.html Night marketCool caps and tshirts. Aussie surf brand names at cheap prices. Dad reminds us that these goods are fakes. But who cares They look and feel real to me. So we buy some. There are also truckloads of cheap DVDs and computer games. Mum checks out the handbags and fashion stalls. Rohan scores a nodding toy giraffe.We also eat at the Long Bay night food area at Batu Ferringhi. There are l http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/blog-419767.html Penang is not a flat island. It has hills that are high and steep. We visit five attractions that are all high points. 1. Beach ridesI am at the front so I get the wettest. We start off beach sports on a banana boat. We bump past the shore of Batu Ferringhi. We ride onehanded then handsfree. It is bouncy and fun. But there is something else we want more. Soon we are flying high.There is not http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Penang/blog-413009.html Cat cityCats everywhere. This city is full of them. On street corners. In the gardens At restaurant doors. Plaster stone wood and china cats. Furry ones wander the streets. There is even a museum about cats here. Young Rohan loves cats. So he points out every cat he sees. He never tires of them. He chases cats down alleyways. He runs away from cats that growl at him. But he comes back for more http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-419123.html Kampung boysChickens wander everywhere. Blotchy cats strut as if they own the place. Pigs snort loudly demanding food. A lady squats peeling tapioca roots for their dinner. Kampung boys and girls peep out from doorways. They are frightened of young Rohan the blondehaired toddler with bright yellow shoes. They retreat into the safety of their homes. An older man stops to chat with us. Other vill http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Kuching/blog-412961.html River rideWe are better prepared this time. We have shoes for the walk and thongs for the beaches. We have sunscreen and bug repellent ready. It's an easy boat ride along the river to the national park. We wave as we pass a couple of local motor boats. A fisherman waves back.There are lots of fishing nets hanging up and cane fish traps in the water. Locals are washing dishes in the river and movin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/Bako-National-Park/blog-418214.html Getting to KuchingSarawak's annual music festival is massive. The threeday festival is so popular that all of the airline schedules get rearranged to allow more people to fly into Kuching. Indeed our midafternoon flight has been altered to fly at the crackofdawn. Miss out on breakfast No way The airline kindly agrees to switch us to an early evening flight. That is OK. But it means that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sarawak/blog-412960.html Splashing across the South China SeaDad is getting soaked. Young Rohan looks like a stunned fish. He clings onto Dad like a limpet. Mum is getting scared. The boatman hands her a life jacket. Benji and I are grinning from ear to ear. We are definitely NOT scared. Not one bit We love the shear speed and seaspray. It's the best ride of our trip so far. Speedboats are always fun. And this one is rea http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/blog-417160.html Question 1 Borneo is the worldrsquos third largest island. Why does it have a relatively small populationArrange the following answers in order of importance. A It is so wet that large areas are flooded for much of the year.B Much of the island is covered by dense rainforests. C There is a greater concentration of poisonous snakes per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. D http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/blog-417185.html Kota KinabaluWe fly two hours east from KL touch down in Kota Kinabalu KK and head straight into town. You can't miss Mount Kinabalu. On a clear morning the mountain dominates the skyline. In the afternoon it is usually covered in clouds. Mount Kinabalu is the highest peak in the whole of Malaysia. The Crocker mountain range is an everchanging background to the bustling city of Kota Kinabal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Sabah/Kota-Kinabalu/blog-412831.html Getting aroundKL has a hitech train system and a monorail. We had a short ride on the monorail. That was fun But there was an even easier way to get to several places in one day. It's called the Hopon Hopoff Bus. We sat up on the top deck and had a good look around between stops. It even had headphones describing landmarks in several languages. The main downside was the traffic busy at a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-415960.html Leaving homeTaxi Where Of course it's coming... Any minute now... Must be around the corner. That's what the taxi operator told us when we finally got through on the phone. But the next car coming is definitely NOT a taxi. Nor the next one. Nor any others. We are still waiting on the footpath at home. Going nowhere. Could this adventure end before it even begins Mum was worried because the tax http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/Wilayah-Persekutuan/Kuala-Lumpur/blog-412739.html Eat or starveMalaysia is the home of laksa curries and hot sauces. Even noodle and rice dishes are spicy. Dad says I will need to get to like spicy food or starve So we have been visiting Malaysian restaurants before we go. Just trying some new foods. Training the tastebuds. One of our favourite eating places has a collection of hawkers stalls inside a food court. A big range of styles to cho http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/blog-411076.html Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all. Name your missionMalaysia sure is different from where my family live in Australia. And those differences must be worth a closer look. It has been calling us for a long time. One whole year ago we finally decided to have an adventure. Airfares were being offered dirt cheap. So we booked flights for the whole family. Dad was up late that http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Malaysia/blog-410687.html