Week 6: 22 to 28 Jan

GONG XI FA CAI! Happy Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year

 I can’t believe we have been here 6 weeks! We STILL have no internet, phone or tv in our apartment but are getting them on Feb 2^nd. But we have bought 20 dvds since we got here, so cheap!, so are watching those at night.

We had a relaxing Chinese New Year long weekend with Monday and Tuesday being public holidays. Sunday night we watched fireworks all around and all night from our apartment, at midnight we counted 14 different ones at once. Monday we went to Chinese New Year bbq at the Chinese course instuctors place. Lachlan and Danae got quite a few ang pow (the little red envelopes that are given to children on CNY) and came home with 25 ringit to add to the 8 we gave them earlier that morning. The food was amazing and Steve enjoyed his wild boar ribs!

Tuesday we went to IKEA to get desks for the kids, but they didn’t have the ones we wanted. We went to Bubba Gumps for lunch.

On Wednesday the kids and I went to have a look around Bangsar, a trendy suburb with a lot of homewear shops and great cafes and eating places, with Toni, the other Australian here.

Thursday was Australia Day and after spending most of the day shopping for school shoes the kids met two other Aussie kids and we went swimming at their place. They go to the Australian school as well and their Dad works for the federal police at the High Comm. In the evening we went and had dinner with all the defence people from the High Comm for Australia Day.

Australia Day and School Orientation Day

Friday was Orientation Day at school. Even though the school runs on the nsw curriculum, it is very different from what we are used to. Lachlan is in middle school and will be choosing an instrument to play this year. They both have lots of classes with specialist teachers for PE, music, and drama. They have a swimming pool at the school and the facilities are fantastic. I drove to the school and back, it was the first time I had driven, except for a quick trip to the supermarket. Steve played golf Friday afternoon, it was compulsory. And I spent the afternoon by the pool with the kids and the New Zealanders, then went to Toni’s for dinner but we ended up waiting until after 9 for the guys to get home from playing golf.

Saturday was mostly spent shopping for joggers, school bags and a combination lock for school, then for groceries.

Next weekend we have another long weekend, so we are going to Singapore and staying on Sentosa Island.
We would really love to see some comments!!

Week 5: 15 to 21 Jan

lost tooth; chilling at home; bar @ Starhill Gallery; Danae in the fish spa

Sorry for posting so late, we have a 4 day weekend here for Chinese New Year (but I will get to that next week)

It’s been another eventful week. Lachlan lost his tooth on Monday. We also went to Chinatown on Monday and had another foot spa, this time Danae had a go too. I went to lunch with some other Aussie ladies on Wednesday to the Starhill Gallery, and again on Friday with a different group at someone’s place.

Saturday afternoon we had a bbq with the Australian course instructor, his wife (who is the Community Liason Officer at the High Comm) and their 11 yo son. Lachlan was glad to finally hang out with someone close to his age. The NZ instructor and family, the Chinese instructor and his wife, and the other Aust course participant, and NZ course partipant were there as well. It was a great day. Saturday morning I had my first drive in KL, I got honked at once in the first few hundred metres, but other than that it was ok.

We have had a few storms this week, we get great views from our apartment.

Week 4: Jan 8 to 15

Steve started course on Monday so the kids and I have had a fairly quiet week mostly. On Thursday as part of the course introduction we all went on a city tour with all the other international students and families.

We went to City Hall first, then got to go up to the Sky Bridge of the Petronus Towers. It was amazing! even though it wasn’t a very clear day. Normally to get to the bridge you need to queue from 4am as they only let 200 people on each day. By the time we got there at 10:30 they had already reached the quota for the day, so we were very lucky.

The Petronus Towers

After the Petronus towers we went to Putrajaya. It is a city and federation on the edge of KL where all the government buildings are. It is very similar to the centre of Canberra and is only 14 years old. There were so many interesting buildings and architecture. 

Putrajaya

Friday night Steve and I had to go to an Introduction Night function. It was very different to what we would have attended in Australia and Steve had to wear a batik shirt and I had to be covered to my ankles and past my elbows. It was a long night, especially as we had to stand the whole night and there was no alcohol.

Saturday was Steve’s birthday and we didn’t do much in the morning, just a little grocery shopping (we have to all go together, because I am still too scared to drive). In the afternoon we went to the Pavilion shopping centre and Bukit Bintang to do a little shopping, get Steve’s present and go out for dinner. He chose to go to TGIFridays and the food was pretty good, the cocktails were even better. I couldn’t decide between the Blackberry Long Island Iced Tea or the Mango Caramel Mojito.

Week 3: Jan 1 to 7

top: at the Traders Hotel SkyBar. bottom: Chinatown, New Year decorations and foot spa.

It was a quieter week this week, I think the kids are tired of walking around in the heat. New Years Day we went for a drink at the Sky Bar at the Traders Hotel. They have one of the best views in KL and we heard that tables there for New Years Eve were almost AU$1500. Then we went to Jalan Alor for some yummy hawker Chinese.

the SkyBar (photo from their website)

Tuesday we celebrated our 14^th wedding anniversary. The kids were babysat and we went out for Japanese at Rakuzen, just up the road from where we live. The food was beautiful and we got a bottle of Australian wine. I wish I had taken photos, but I am sure we will be back there soon.

Wednesday we all went down to the Australian International School of Malaysia (AISM), where Lachlan and Danae will be starting school on the 27 Jan. It looks like a great school and they are doing lots of renovating at the moment. That night we caught up with the other Aussie family here and had them over for dinner.

 Friday we went to Chinatown in the afternoon. The kids both wanted a pair of crocs and a Chinese outfit fot CNY, which we got. Steve, Lachlan and I had a foot spa, where fish eat the dead skin off your feet and legs. It felt really weird at first, but you got used to it. I will be going back regularly, especially as it only cost RM 5 (less than $2) for 10 minutes

We also did some grocery shopping (not very exciting but we had tried to find the supermarket twice and failed, so it was exciting for us), had a look around another mall about 20 minutes drive away, and met the New Zealand family.

week 2: 25 dec to 31 dec

 It's been a busy week again this week. Christmas Day was quiet, we had the donushi that we got for Danae's birthday and fruit for breakfast, opened presents, did a bit more unpacking. We tried to book into some of the hotels around KL for Christmas lunch, but they were all booked out, so we had toasted sandwiches instead (we still haven't done a real grocery shop yet). In the afternoon we got invited to the Assistant Defence Attache's place for drinks and ended up staying for dinner, they have a great view of the towers from their lounge room and just live around the corner from us.

Boxing Day we left for Penang. It took just over 4 hours to drive there with a lunch stop. We stayed in Georgetown at the Oriental Hotel, it was ok for what we paid, again because we decided to go fairly last minute we were very limited by what was available and we found it even more difficult finding somewhere to accomodate the 4 of us.Geogetown was a very interesting mix of cultures and the food was great!! We visited museums, historic sites and saw temples and mosques.

Before we even arrived in Malaysia Lachlan had seen the singing rojak man on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD-EznoOcb0) so one night we got a cab to Gurney Drive in search of the rojak man. After walking past about 60 hawker stalls and almost at the end, we had almost given up, then we looked across  and saw him!! and there was a vacant table right in front of him. The rojak was delicious. Rojak is a kind of salad of fried bits of whatever chopped up and mixed with some shredded vegies and a sauce on top. It is one of those dishes that is different almost everywhere you try it, but here you got to choose what fried bits you want.

dancing rojak man

Outside of Georgetown we went to Batu Ferengi and the Spice Garden (we had thai for lunch there and the food was great, so was the view). Steve and the kids swam at a beach, while I sat at a table a few metres away under a palm tree sipping my new favourite drink, limau ais (iced lime juice with a dash of sugar syrup). We did a little shopping at Gurney Plaza.

After 4 nights in Penang we drove back to Ipoh and the big surprise was a day at the Lost Wotld of Tambun theme park and staying the night there. The theme park was small compared to the ones on the Gold Coast, but not too crouded. There was a petting zoo, a water park and a few rides. The kids enjoyed it and spent most of the time in the water park. We checked into the hotel there later in the afternoon and spent a bit of time cooling down in the a/c and went back to the park in the evening where they have just the hot springs and spa open. It was kind of surreal sitting in the hot springs in the rain.

We came home the next day and stopped at IKEA on the way to get a few things for the apartment and spent New Years Eve downstairs by the pool with the other Aussie couple and found a good spot to see the fieworks, even though they were mostly blocked by another building.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family back home.