Adventures in KL

After living in Malaysia for almost five months, we finally ventured down to Kuala Lumpur, affectionately known as KL. We left Saturday morning and drove for four hours with only two stops - Ms. A had a hard time sitting still. Miraculously, we found our hotel. (The roads were challenging, the map was great, but I'm terrible with maps, Ms. A was talking non-stop and our hotel was being renovated, so we didn't recognize the building from the internet picture.) Our hotel had no windows (a unique experience). It was in the heart of Chinatown, excellent food and great shopping. The back of the hotel emptied out to Petaling Street. The street is closed at night and it comes alive with tons of vendors selling their goods.

The next morning we took a taxi to the Petronas Twin Towers. We wanted to see the view from the Skybridge until we hear the earliest availability was 6pm (we were there at 9am) and was saw the miniature city waiting to go up. We decided to check out the shopping in the base of the towers and then take pictures outside. The towers were awe-inspiring! We had a fun time trying to get us and a full view of the towers in a picture.

We walked over to our next stop, the Menara or KL Tower. It was a nice walk that allowed us to see a bit more of the city. In front of the tower there are some fountains. Ms. A had a blast playing in the water. We also purchased a collapsible ball which Ms. A opened and closed. :)

We took a taxi over to Merdeka Square to see the world's tallest flagpole. It is also the location where the Union Jack was lowered for the last time in 1957 and Malaysia gained her independence. Malaysians have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of this event this past year. Ms. A kicked her new ball around entertaining us and other visitors.

After the square we took a taxi over to the Berjaya Times Square, a mall with over 900 shops and restaurants. It also has an indoor roller coaster which was breathtaking to see. We had lunch on the third floor and we could hear the roller coaster above us on the 5th - 7th floors.

Monday, we drove to Zoo Negara, or the National Zoo. We were tickled to see the name of the snack shop, so we took a picture of the Nelson Corn in a Cup. Ms. A was thrilled to feed an elephant a sugarcane! She kept telling us that the elephant wanted more food. He even kneeled down on his back leg hoping for a treat. I felt bad for the elephant because he could smell the sugarcane, but it was out of his reach. When we saw the storks she asked if they could go on her arm, she remembered holding the macaws and pigeons that we had seen previously in Malaysia and Greece. We tried to explain that they were too big, but she didn't believe us until we got closer. When she saw them, she quickly rushed to Reed and asked him to carry her. :) I had Reed take a picture of the macaque because Sara, my sister, studied Black Crested Macaques in college. Reed has a unique attraction to unusual signs, hence the warning sign about throwing stones at the primates. :)

Our last stop were the Batu Caves. One word: WOW! I'm a wimp when it comes to stair climbing, so I wasn't too excited to climb up 272 stairs(plus more inside the cave), but I did it and it was amazing. Ms. A had an unfortunate run-in with some of the monkeys. While Reed was taking pictures of the monkeys playing in the garbage can, a monkey got too close to Ms. A and she tripped over a nearby monkey. When the monkey recovered, he went over to some of his friends and they gained up on Ms. A. When Reed and Ms. A saw what was happening, Ms. A , in a panicked voice asked Reed to pick her up. he quickly complied, but the monkeys didn't back down. Reed was able to keep them at bay, while he and Ms. A made a rush to leave that area. Ms. A wasn't hurt, just scared. She pulled us out of the cave. Hopefully, this won't scar her for life. She had a fun time chasing the pigeons. :)

Malay Wedding

One of Reed's coworkers, Hadi, invited us to his wedding celebration. We were very honored and excited to see a traditional Malay wedding reception. They had their marriage ceremony earlier in the day or the previous night.

Here are a few things another coworker told us about the ceremony and traditions.

The bride and groom each have a reception where they invite their entire community and friends to share in their new life. The friends and family have lunch and enjoy each others' company while they wait for the wedding party to arrive. Hanim, the bride, went with the women of her family to meet Hadi, the groom, and his family. 

They were followed by a group of Kompang drummers and then their family. They walked down the road until they arrived at her family home. There they are blessed by their family with flowers and perfumes. After the family greets them, friends share their well wishes. Afterwards the bride and groom enjoy their lunch.

Hadi and Hanim coming to their wedding reception

Kompang Drummers

The Women Bringing Gifts

The Bride and Groom

Ready to greet their guests

Intel Group

Hadi and Hanim hired a small group of Silat martial artists to perform as well. It was wonderful to see the poise, strength and skill of the fighters.

Silat Martial Artist greeting the new couple

   

We had a wonderful time and wish Hadi and Hanim joy and happiness in their new life.

Ms. A's Pink Bucket

We drove Reed to work, so I could have the car to make a grocery run. During our shopping, we finally found the elusive PINK BUCKET Ms. A has wanted desperately. When we found one at Tesco (like a Super Walmart), she giggled with joy, hugged the bucket and sweetly asked to buy it for her. She carried the bucket around throughout the store. She kept asking me what the tag said, asked me to sing the bucket song and repeatedly asked when she could open the packaging.

After dinner, SHE wanted to take pictures of the bucket with my help. She took the all the pictures (with me holding the camera) in this slide show except for the ones with her in it. She got even more excited when she found her other beach toys and decided we needed to GO TO THE BEACH RIGHT NOW. She put on her hat and asked to leave. Unfortunately, it was nighttime when this occurred, so no beach. We will have to wait for another day preferably when Reed finishes his current project.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 5

Here's my last installment of the Fruits of Southeast Asia. I thought I would end with a familiar fruit. The coconut. I love the way they served coconut drinks. Reed ordered one for his birthday. I also found this interesting site with a bunch of fruit pictures.

I also wanted to test your Bahasa Malaysia abilities. Here is a list of some fruits in English and Bahasa Malaysia to see if you could match them up. I added the answers in my first Southeast fruit blog.

We were out eating with a couple of Reed's coworkers from home and when one of them saw tembikai he jokingly thought it was pronounced 'Timbuktu'.

1. Orange a. kelapa

2. Coconut b. tembikai

3. Pineapple c. susu

4. Banana d. lobak merah

5. Watermelon e. oren

6. Carrot f. nanas

7. Milk g. pisang

Hope you enjoyed the fruit introduction.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 4

Lychee is a highly favored fruit here. I seen a variety of spellings, so this is the one I've seen the most. I have heard comments about the amount a restaurant or home puts in drinks or food lets you know the quality of the establishment. I've also heard people complain if they don't have enough in their food. :)

My first experience with the fruit was in a cake celebrating the birthday of the Relief Society.
It was like eating large grapes in a cake. It was alright, but unusual for me.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 3

Dragon Fruit was another fruit that we tried at the Fruit Farm. I was surprised by the deep magenta color and all the little seeds. It tasted a bit like kiwi, sweet and juicy. Reed and I loved the end of our tour at the Fruit Farm, because they have a buffet of the fruit. It makes the perfect environment for trying a variety of fruits. :)

Both pictures are from wikipedia.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 2

We tried Jackfruit the first week we were here. We went to the Botanical Gardens with Alan and Sonja and noticed the stand as we left. The interior of the fruit is a soft yellow color with large bulbs of pulp about 1 inch long. It tasted a bit like a pineapple melon.

Fruits of Southeast Asia, part 1

I thought I'd share some of the fruits we have come across since our moved to Malaysia. The first is called Durian. It's nickname is the "King of Fruits."

Reed had a couple of coworkers come over from home and on their last night here, we went out to eat. Amy, another coworker, is from China and she recommended this delicious fruit. As we were leaving for the car, we saw a stand that was selling them. They ranged in size from a cantaloupe to larger than a watermelon. Reed selected to fruit they wanted and asked if they would open it up. The fruit has a very spiny exterior with a white interior and is known for it's very pungent smell. Several public places and rental car companies do not allow them inside. The edible part of the fruit looks like a semi-cooked dinner roll that has been squished. Reed said it looked like chicken vomit, that turned me off from trying it. :) Apparently the fruit is very sweet tasting. The guys ate the fruit while Ms A and I watched.

When we came home, I could still smell the fruit, especially where Reed had been standing or sitting for a bit of time. Here are a couple of sites about the fruit. Enjoy!

Durian Fruit

Durian celebration

Funny story

Here are the answers from part 5: 1. e; 2. a; 3. f; 4. g; 5. b; 6. d; 7. c. I know milk is not considered a fruit. I included it because they will add susu to some of the drinks.

Beach Fun in Batu Ferringhi

After 5 years of marriage we finally were able to go Para-Sailing! We tried in Mexico and Greece, but we couldn't find the right place.

As soon as we found a place to park and walked to the beach, a gentleman came up and asked us if we were interested. Reed excitedly went first. Ms. A wanted to go "flying with daddy," but she is too small. Reed had a wonderful time and tried to convince me to go. I was a bit apprehensive, so I said no. Reed and Ms. A took the jet ski out for a spin. She loved it after she got used to the noise and speed. When they came back, I decided to try out the para-sailing. The boat driver asked if I wanted to touch the water. When he saw my nervousness, he said he would let me touch the water. He tried twice and the second time worked. I panicked a bit, when the water came so close, so fast, but he quickly got me in the air again. It was a "Grand Adventure". I got me feet wet and now I can say I did it! The landing was a bit rough, but overall it was fun. :)

Reed Para-sailing

 I was able to take this perfect picture of Reed landing.

Heather's turn

Jet Ski fun. Reed and Ms A LOVE the water.

Reed built a 'pool' for Ms. A to play in since she was wary of the "big waves." She had a marvelous time and invited some other girls to play with her. She practiced her swimming on her belly and loved every minute. She was not excited to come in from playing, but we saw storm clouds and decided it was time to leave. :) We left just in time. When we sat down for lunch at a cafe, the rain came pouring in. We waited for about 15 minutes until Reed decided to get the car. He came back drenched. It was a perfect beach day. :)

Trying to make a new "friend"

Water baby

Building a sandcastle

Penang Bird Park

We ventured across the bridge over to Butterworth today to see the Penang Bird Park. After getting lost for about 30 minutes, a norm for us, we found our destination. We enjoyed seeing the huge variety of birds they had. Ms. A wasn't too excited about the closeness of the birds, but I think she had a fun time. :)

The park had a few other animals besides birds. We saw a crocodile, turtles, tortoise, snakes and a deer!

Australian Masked Owl

Blue and Green Macaw

Crocodile

Double-wattled Cassowary

Flamingo

Golden owl

Golden-breasted Starling

Great Hornbill

Painted Stork

Reed feeding a bird

White Bellied Sea Eagle

Rock -n- Roll

Around 4:10 pm our time, I was sitting at my computer preparing for a talk on Sunday. All of the sudden, I felt like my chair was swaying back and forth. I thought it was me, so I asked Reed if he felt it as well, he did. I looked at the chandelier and saw it swaying as well. I remembered a earthquake we felt in Idaho when I was younger. My mom, who is from California, tried to convince us that is was an earthquake and pointed out the swinging chandelier. Reed and I thought it was the wind, but we had seen stronger winds and not felt them. I decided to check out the USGS site http://earthquake.usgs.gov.

Sure enough there was a earthquake in SIMEULUE, INDONESIA. Very exciting! We are safe and far enough away to feel the swaying motions, but not get hurt.

Our landlord was here at the time and he assured us that Penang doesn't have earthquakes or Tsunamis. :) It's usually Indonesia that has those experiences.

Shopping in Malaysia

We just got back from grocery shopping at the local Tesco. It's like a combination Winco and Target. All the shopping centers that we have visited so far are multiple levels. Usually the food is on the ground floor or the top level. They have escalators that are designed for shopping carts (trolleys in Malaysia). When we took the cart to the car, we went down the escalator. I was holding on tightly since I didn't want to loose Ms A or the food. Reed started to shake the cart as if he wanted me to let go. I was a bit confused and I loosened my hold, the cart stayed put! Apparently, the escalator and cart wheel were designed to lock together! It was a fun discovery!

Speaking of shopping carts, I thought I'd give a little insight into the different terms used here.

Trolley - Shopping Cart
Lift - Elevator
Boot - Car Trunk
Air - Water (yes our water bill says Air which is Bahasa Malay for water, so we have to pay for our 'air'.)
Fly-over - Overpass
Batu - Rock
Ferringhi - Foreigner (It's pronounced like the Star Trek acquisition-centered race)
Pulau - Island
Awas - Beware

Some other interesting things to keep an eye out for:

• When driving, don't be surprised to see motor bikes whiz by on either side of the car.
• When trying to get somewhere, make sure you have a route going and coming back. There are so many one way roads and roads changing directions, it makes it difficult to go most places.
  
• As a pedestrian, watch out, drivers don't pay attention or give you any right of way.
• When using the public restrooms, make sure you have your own toilet paper and don't be surprised by the typical hole (no seat) with a wet floor. Malaysians use a hose to clean off instead of paper.
• Hawker stalls are a great place to try new foods, don't be scared off by the lack of cleanliness, the food is safe.
  
• Go the the night market hungry. It is a great way to try new foods. Plus seeing the live fish makes the hawker stand look tame. The fish can also entertain your little one as you look at a nearby stall. Reed and I joked about the health department in the states having a heyday with the health violations.

Leaving on a Jet Plane!

Reed is being transferred for work, so we are going as well. We will be leaving for Malaysia on January 27th for a six month stay. We are very excited! Now that the tickets are booked, the reality of moving to a foreign country is hitting us.

Sara and her family will be living in our home which works perfectly for both of us. It will be sad to leave our friends and family, but we are looking forward to our new friends and experiences.

It will be a wonderful experience and I found out the church has a branch just 10 to 15 minutes from where we will be living. So I know there will be something familiar to look forward to each week.