Our last stroll along the tarmac in the heat…good bye Asia, good bye summer, good riddance squat toilets. Hello winter…

We had a great visit with our friends, Fong and Elaine, in Kuala Lumpur. Simon and Fong played in a band together in Fort Smith, when we lived there 4 years ago.

Our first outing was to a Hindu temple set inside a huge cave. It was quite impressive as were the long flight of steps leading to the cave entrance.


Also up there were a few hawkers with their Burmese pythons, available for photographic opportunities. Maddie was instantly interested; Emily needed a little more coaxing, but eventually both sat with a snake on their lap or around their shoulders.




Fong knew all the hotspots for eating to take us to, they were all amazing! Malaysia is a country filled with a huge variety of peoples; Indian, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian and other southeast Asians, as well as the local Malaysians. A result of this is a huge fusion of foods with many enticing flavours. We ate Malaysian chicken ayan goreng rempah, which is fried chicken with coconut rice; Indian parathas with wonderful curries, served on a banana leaf; Japanese sushi, Chinese dim sum and even more. Our tastebuds were overjoyed!

We went on a Sunday outing down to Malacca, a old Portuguese port. The girls enjoyed climbing around in an authentic ship just like little pirates and going up a scenic ride high in the sky.

At the downtown Central Market we found some pretty dresses for the girls, henna for their hands and the oddest exfoliation method I have ever experienced. As I submerged my feet and lower legs into this pool, hundreds of small fish suckered themselves onto me and ate away all my dead skin and increased the circulation. It was the strangest feeling!

Malaysians are also big fans of shopping malls. We visited several, to get supplies for the trip ahead of us and some exercise at the numerous kids playgrounds. I was amazed at the amount of Christmas decorations in a largely Muslim country. I guess commerce is commerce, and Christmas at a mall is all about the shopping enticements.

Here are the famed twin towers of Kuala Lumpur, and Emily striking a ‘fashion girl’ pose in her new dress, as she would call it. Kate Moss look out!