We rose late after getting to bed just after midnight. The walk to brunch was about 15 minutes and we immediately recognised that Kuala Lumpur is much wealthier than Jakarta. Lucy in the Sky was the name of the coffee shop and the staff were very accommodating as Ed's rounds of toast kept rolling in. Hat knocked a glass off a shelf and was mortified, however, they were very laid back and even made her a hot chocolate with a teddy bear shaped into the milk and chocolate writhing on the saucer which said no worries. We caught a taxi to the Petronas Twin Towers to visit the science museum on the 4th floor. It had been created by the Malaysian petrochemical company Petronas and therefore there was quite a bit about how oil was extracted ... read more

We were picked up by Tono and we asked if he could take us to a play park on the way back to Yogya. It turns out that play park has much larger connotations in Zinfonesia and we ended up in a half park - half theme park - half zoo - half museum place. The kids loved it and raced from one thing to the next. They really didn't get the hang of steering the peddle boats and caused some jams. They were keen to go in the 6D cinema and I must say that I had my eyes closed the whole time as it gave immediate motion sickness ... read more

We spent the day in the pool to get rid of the kids energy and it certainly helped my legs which are very stiff and sore from the climb. About 3.30 our car arrived for the 40 minute drive to Borobudur. Built in AD760, and taking sixty years to complete, it is the wolds largest Buddhist temple. It was forgotten for over a 1000 years and rediscovered around 1850, overgrown and covered. We took the first level corridor, about 8 foot wide, and walked around the whole perimeter. Then moved up to the second level and so on. The walls of each corridor are covered with stone carvings, telling the story of Buddhism. After 4 levels you reach three circular levels with giant stone stupas (bell shaped with intricate holes). We'd chosen to come in the ... read more

Cas took Ed and Hat on a crafts morning in Jogja. A two hour visit to a traditional batik factory where they all go to make their own design and gave them printed. The kids loved the factory and Cas kept her beady eye on them as there were vats of hot wax etc. After this they went to a silversmiths workshop to make rings. They were given strips of silver to hammer, twist, stamp and they were delighted to get their hands on a blowtorch to do some soldering. They turned up at the villa st 2.00pm, bearing a slice of delicious Dutch apple pie. I had the full run down of how everything was made and they were very enthusiastic about both visits. Cas had made me a lovely silver ring, as I'd left ... read more

Breakfast was served up st the main house and the owner couldn't have been more accommodating. His Dutch heritage shows in the fusion breakfast which included a green pancake fringed with bananas (?). After yesterday's travelling we all just fancied a day of kicking back. The kids watched some films, Ed and Zi played chess and droughts. It also took an age to upload seven days of blog pictures as it had been impossible in Batu Karas. Finally, Cas and I completely rethought the Cambodia and Laos itinerary and redid it to reduce travelling and create more time for activities/day trips. We took a car to a local restaurant. Cas wasn't feeling too great when we'd ordered - it was probably the heat as it was both hot and very humid. After lunch we asked our ... read more