Week 17: April 9 to 15

Sorry this is so late, I have been helping Steve put together a photo book from his trip to Sarawak as part of his assesment. He was given over 2400 photos and it took longer than we expected.

The start of the week was fairly uneventful, even though the kids are on holidays. Monday was not a day off here. The kids were happy to mostly chill out at home. Monday we went to KLCC to get a few groceries and got some lunch. Danae got a kids manicure there and they stamped nail polish on her fingers, so cute!

Wednesday was a public holiday for the coronation of the king. There are 13 states and 3 federal territories (KL is a federal territory and is surrounded by the state of Selangor, so some of the suburban areas of KL are actually in Selangor like the school the kids go to. Of the 13 states, nine have sultans. Every 5 years one of the sultans is crowned king, they rotate through.
On Wednesday we all went to Chinatown. We had a wonder through the markets, went to my favorite home wares store, had a foot fish spa, had lunch, bought flowers and came back home for a swim.

Thursday the kids went to Petrodains with Miyo and Hanson, the Chinese Australian children who live here and go to the Australian school. It is a bit like Questacon in Canberra and is at the top of Suria KLCC shopping centre, so quite close to here.

Friday we had Michael and Toni over to watch the Carlton Collingwood game. It was on live here so started at 5:30. Then we went out for a few drinks afterward.

Saturday we went to Melaka. Steve is starting to get to the end of his first semester (he has 3) and will be quite busy over the next few weeks with assignments and study for exams. so we wanted to go away this weekend before that all starts. I really love Melaka! It is my favourite place in Malaysia we have been to so far. We stayed at a hotel about a 15 minute walk along the river from the touristy centre of town. The shopping is great along Jonker Street and although we didn't do much shopping we all got something. Saturday was a bit cooler (Melaka is generally hotter than KL because there is not as much cloud) and we did as much as we could. We did the river cruise and walked around the ruins of an old church up on a hill. At about 5 we went back to the hotel to check in, have a swim and we got a free hour in a karaoke room as part of our family stay package ( the catch was that we had to get a drink each and soft drinks were $3.50 -that is expensive here). It was a lot of fun though! We then went back to Jonker Street to have dinner and look at the night markets.
Sunday was a lot warmer. We had breakfast, checked out and left the car there while we headed back to the centre of town. We went on a trishaw ride, did a little more looking around and went and had a cool drink at our favourite spot by the river, they make the best lemon iced tea. We had been there the day before and had a drink and tried cendol (a Malaysian dessert with red beans in the bottom, a big mound of shaved ice, some green pandan flovoured little sqiggly things, kind of like rice noodles, then poured over the top is condensed milk and gula Melaka, whis is a liquid palm sugar). Sounds bizarre but we all liked it, until we got to the red beans at the bottom. We headed home and stopped at a shopping centre on the way out of Melaka for lunch. It took us about 2 hours to get home.

Week 16: April 2 to 8

Happy Easter!!

It's been a long week with Steve away in Sarawak. Both the kids had major assignments due this week, Danae had to do a model of a park (she chose a water park) and Lachlan did a PowerPoint presentation of a timeline of the things that have made an impact on his life.

Tuesday night we had toasted sandwiches for dinner and then went to Delicious, the restaurant out the front of our apartment building, for dessert.On Wednesday I went to have a look at Kidzania with some other mums from the High Comm. It looked like a lot of fun for the kids and we will probably do it sometime during the school holidays.

Thursday was the last day of school and Danae got her progress report, it was really good! There is a photo of it in the photos, but it's probably too small to read, she got 'commendable' in all areas of the personal profile and has a spelling age of 12 years 8 months, a reading age of 10 years, and her maths test result was 74%. We went to the New Zealander's apartment for dinner Thursday night.

Steve came home at lunchtime on Friday. We had lunch then went grocery shopping, came back for a swim then went out for dinner.
Saturday we went to a shopping centre we hadn't been to before. We went to try 'the worlds best sandwich' but when we got there we found out that it wasn't on the menu until next week.. We had a look around though. When we got home I did some baking for Easter.

Danae's assignment (almost finished, we stuck in some bushes from downstairs on the way to the bus); report; dessert from Delicious; some balloons I saw outside a restaurant as I was walking along Bukit Bintang; a heart shaped leaf given to Lachlan by Miyo; Steve reading Danae's report.

 Easter Sunday was a great day! One of the American ladies here at Dua organized a whole heap of stuff for the morning. There was a huge egg hunt, egg decorating, games, face painting, tattoos, cookie decorating, a piñata and everyone bought food and drinks to share. I went down early to help set up and did most of the egg hunt. Everyone had a great time. At midday most of the people moved to the pool, but we came upstairs to cool down and relax. The kids and I watched We Bought A Zoo on DVD while Steve did some work. Later in the afternoon we went back downstairs and had drinks, swimming and pizza with the NZers.

Week 15: Mar 26 to Apr 1

It's been a week of comings and goings this week. Lachlan left for camp on Tuesday and Danae on Thursday. They both arrived home Friday and Steve and I went to the school to pick them up. Then on Sunday Steve left for Sarawak on sunday morning as part of his course.
Monday night we went to Suzi's Corner for dinner with Doug, the American, his family and some other Americans who are based in Beijing. Suzi's is a popular hang out with expats because they have really good steak!
Wednesday I went to Chinatown to get some flowers, I got a big bunch of lilies (5 stems), 4 stems of white orchids and 20 roses all for $12!!
Thusday we had the afternoon and evening all to ourselves! Steve usually finishes around lunchtime on Thursdays because the afternoon is suposed to be study time, but of course this week he wasn't home till about 4:30. We went to La Bodega for a drink, then had reflexology together for an hour (poor Steve got a woman who was quite rough, mine was lovely- mostly!). After that we went to a Japanese restaurant where you pay (around $25) and you can order what you like from the menu. They didn't have much sushi, but they had salmon sashimi that was very good and the eel was great too (it's one of our favourite dishes). We had a walk around some of the touristy areas, then came home.

Friday was pretty much the same as usual, we picked up the kids from school and spent the afternoon by the pool. On Saturday there was a chocolate, beer and wine thing near our house, so we took the kids in the morning (when it was just chocolate) and we went back in the afternoon to taste the beer and wine while the babysitter stayed with the kids.
Sunday Steve left for Sarawak later in the morning and we spent most of the day doing assignments that are due next week. For dinner I took the kids out for sushi.

I don't have any pictures of camp because the children weren't allowed to take cameras, but I think the teachers took some and will give out discs to the kids, probably not till after the holidays though.

Week 14: March 19 to 25

It's been another fairly quiet week. I went to Little India with Toni on Wednesday. The kids have been working hard and playing hard at school and at home and are really excited about camp coming up. They both had cross-coutry on Wednesday and did well, Lachlan came 9th and Danae came 8th. Though it was hard getting them up that morning because school started and finished an hour earlier so they weren't running in the heat. Steve has been doing really well on course despite his frustrations.

Friday night we went to the Guinness and Anchor Brewery and had an open bar and some great food, the lamb on a spit was very popular! Most of the international students were there and some spouses. We had the worst cab driver we have experienced so far in KL on the way there. Saturday was pretty quiet as someone wasn't feeling the best, i got up early and did Zumba class though. We did go up the street a bit to get lunch and haircuts for Lachlan and Steve. In the evening we came down for a swim and met some people from Dua and ended up having a few drinks and getting pizza by the pool with them. Sunday we went to Bangsar to have breakfast and a look around.

Seeing as I don't have many photos for this week, I have taken some photos around the apartment. The lounge is pretty horrid and I have asked for it to be recovered in a more neutral fabric, but I am not sure if it will happen. We are trying to make the most of it though and it actually looks ok on these photos ( instagram makes everything look nice though). Liz, I am sure you noticed all the Parker furniture, I wish I could bring it all home for you.

 In a few weeks I might do a video walk through of the apartment and pool area. Have a good week and sorry for being late ...again.

Week 13: March 12 to 18

It's been another fairly quiet week and busy weekend.
The kids are getting ready and excited about camp coming up. Lachlan will be going to the Swiss Garden Resort in Lumut from Tuesday 27th till Friday 30th.

Some of the activities in the itinerary include golf, fishing, rope course, swimming, beach volleyball, disco, tshirt painting, night walk, archery.
Danae is going to Puteri Resort in Melaka for a night on the Thursday 29th.

This week I had a pedicure, hung out with Toni and Kyla, picked up my shoes and started going to Zumba class. Steve has been studying hard and doing hockey and futsal at the college. We did manage a late lunch together on Thursady at Delicious, one of the restaurants at the front of our building. Danae also got her haircut on Thursday evening.

Catching the bus; Upwordsis our new favourite family game; pedicured toes; Lachlan's harem...I mean friends, Eve is on the left and Miyo is on the right (the other two are ring ins)

Saturday was a big day! I had Zumba in the morning, then we caught the tram to the Putra World Trade Centre for a travel fair. We are still trying to decide where to go for the one week holiday we get in August. It was huge and packed! On our way back we stopped at Suria to have lunch and pick up some nibblies for the evening. Then we went down to the school for a get together picnic at 5:30. We thought it would be good to go and meet some other parents, but there weren't a lot of people there. We did catch up with Michelle, an aqaintance and her husband who works for the Federal Police at the High Comm. Then we came home around 8 and Lacksmi babysat the kids and Steve and I went out for St Patricks Day. We went to Changkat Butik Bintang, which is a street with lots of bars and restaurants (including El Cerdo, the pork place we went to a few weeks ago). They had blocked off the street and set up tables, it was a great night and apparently the biggest St Pats celebration in Asia (not bad for a Muslim country!)
Sunday we went to IKEA and the shopping centre next door and spent the late afternoon by the pool.

St Patricks Day; new shoes; my favourite lunch (Gong Cha Signature Earl Grey tea and a handroll); Danae at the travel fair)

 I might get into trouble for this:

Week 12: March 5 to 11

Last week I mentioned Lachlan and Danae’s school routines. The school runs on a two week schedule, and it can be difficult remembering what each child needs to take to school each day and each week. When they have PE they have to take their PE uniform and change into it, unless they have PE in the morning. So here is their schedule:

Week A:

Monday: Danae- library

Tuesday: Danae- PE (take uniform)

                 Lachlan- music (take clarinet)

                                 PE (wear uniform)

                ASAs- take golf clubs

Wednesday: Lachlan- music (take clarinet)

                     ASAs

Thursday: Danae- swimming (take PE uniform and swimming stuff)

Friday:  Danae- assembly

              Lachlan- swimming (wear PE take swimming stuff)

Week B:

Monday: Danae- library

                                PE (take PE uniform)

                 Lachlan- PE (wear PE uniform)

Tuesday: Danae- PE (take uniform)

                ASAs- take golf clubs

Wednesday: Lachlan- music (take clarinet)

                   ASAs

Thursday: Lachlan- PE (take uniform)

Friday: Lachlan- music (take clarinet)

This week started off pretty quiet. I went to brunch and shopping with a friend on Wednesday. Steve had hockey training Monday and Tuesday night and played on Wednesday night. I also drove down to the school on Wed afternoon for an information session on their school camps which are coming up in two weeks. Lachlan is going to Lumut for three nights and Danae is going to Malacca for a night. They are both really excited about camp and it looks like they will both have a great time!

On Thusday I went on a trip to Malacca with some other ladies. Malacca is a UNESCO world heritage listed city about 2 hours from KL. It is where Malaysia was founded and was very interesting.

Friday I got my haircut, it was well overdue and I decided to treat myself to one of KL’s top stylists. He was very good and I really like my cut. Friday night was spent by the pool and there were a few more friends there than usual. Lachlan seems to be a hit with the girls here and Friday night he spent most of the night playing with three girls around his age; Eve who is from Scotland buy has spent a lot of her childhood in the US, Mio who is in Lachlan’s grade at school and catches the bus with him, and Ella who also goes to the Australian school but is a year younger.. and Danae who spent half her time joining in with Lachlan and the other half playing with Mio’s brother or the New Zealand girls.

Saturday was a busy day! We had to get up early because Danae had made the soccer team for the under 9 girls gala day at one of the international schools. It started at 8 and was a bit tricky to find. When we got there we found out that the girls team had been cancelled and we somehow hadn’t been told. But the boys team was 3 players down, so Lachlan stayed to play goalie and had to pretend he was only 9 years old. At lunchtime we went to another international school as they were having an international fair and one of the auskick co-ordinators was going to be there and wanted kids to play a little demo scratch match of football. But when we got there we couldn’t find him or we got there too late. We did see a few other people we knew there and had some food. Then we came home and had a swim and a game of pool tag. After that we went out and had dinner and wanted to do some shopping at Low Yat, a 5 floor shopping centre just for techy stuff. We needed to get a GPS and an IPad cover for Steve.

Sunday was very low key, Steve did some study and we got groceries for the week because I won’t have the car this week as it’s Steve’s turn to drive to the college. And we watched some NAB cup and swam in the afternoon.

Week 11: Feb 27 to Mar 4

It’s been another busy week this week.

The children are fully in their school routines, and they are both doing after school activities on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lachlan does golf and ten pin bowling and Danae does cooking and creative design. Lachlan is learning an instrument this year and is playing the clarinet (though that wasn’t his first choice, Steve is happy!) and he bought it home this week.

 I was told by one of the other Mum’s here at Dua that Lachlan’s photo is on the homepage of the school website. It’s http://www.aism.edu.my/ and he is in the second photo.

Steve has been doing well with his studies and had a quiet week this week, especially toward the end of the week and was home in time for us to have lunch together Thursday and Friday.

I had a few activities on this week as well. On Tuesday a few of us went to visit some organisations that help Burmese women refugees. Here is some of the article I wrote about our visit for the High Comm families newsletter:

On Tuesday 28^th Feb four of us went to visit Mang Tha and Kaoprise in Pudu.

Mang Tha is an organisation created to help improve living conditions of Chin refugee women and their families. Chin is an independent state of Myanmar (Burma). An estimated 50 000 chins have fled from persecution and come to Malaysia, where they are recognised by the UN as refugees, but not by Malaysia. They can wait up to 5 years, or even longer for their applications to be processed.

Mang Tha help empower Chin women by teaching them to sew, learn English and use computers. They make lovely hand woven products on a loom that took over a year to assemble.  One of their best selling products (and the one that has the biggest profit) is their Ring Sling for babies and children.

Kaoprise is a Bath and Spa just across the road from Mang Tha set up to provide shelter, income and skills training for Mon women refugees. The Mon are another ethnic minority from Myanmar. They make beautiful soaps and oils using traditional recipes and natural ingredients.

While we were visiting both places I heard many personal stories about not only the financial help and skills the women had received, but also the way they have been empowered. It was a very humbling experience and one I will remember long after I return to Australia.

Wednesday I went to Chinatown with Kyla to have a look around Central Market, Peter Hoe and get some fresh flowers.

On Thursday I went to a morning tea shoe party at Gail’s, just around the corner. I had heard about Jackson the shoe man from some other women, he makes custom shoes for $50. You can show him shoes you already have to replicate, or pictures of shoes you like, or choose from shoes he has already made. Shoes in Malaysia are quite cheap and there are plenty to choose from! They generally cost between $10 and $35 for your everyday shoe store type shoes. But finding size 10s here is rare, so I ordered 3 pairs from Jackson and I get to pick them up in 2 weeks.

Soap making at Kaoprise; antique store in Chinatown; suckling pig; clarinet lesson from Dad; weaving at Mang Tha

We had a busier weekend this weekend. On Friday Lackshmi, our cleaner and babysitter looked after the kids and Steve and I went out for dinner. We went to a restaurant called El Cerdo, which is Spanish for “pig”. As Malaysia is 60% Muslim, most restaurants are non-halal and don’t serve any pork products. We ordered half a suckling pig, watermelon and tomato salad and a half carafe of pear sangria. It was one of the best meals I have ever had!! When they bring out the pig, they show you how to cut it with a plate, and then you have to smash the plate for good luck! It was very cool and the whole meal was under $100, amazing!!

Saturday we went to the Elephant Sanctuary about 100km out of KL. It is home to orphan elephants. They give out 100 tickets a day to ride and help wash the elephants. It took us a little longer to get there that we had thought, but Lachlan and Danae got tickets (Steve and I didn’t, but that was ok as we had ridden elephants in Thailand before). So after registering, we had a picnic lunch and got to feed the elephants. Then the elephants had a swim with the staff riding them (the water was way too high to allow people to help wash them and that was a little disappointing, but we might go back later in the year). They did a little show, then Lachlan and Danae got to ride on one. It was a great day, and although Lachlan wasn’t convinced that it was worth the two hour trip there, Danae thought it was great!

Sunday we went shopping at one of the biggest malls in KL, Mid Valley Mall. Then we came home and the kids had a swim. Lachlan spent the whole time with his “friend” Eve and Danae played with the New Zealand girls. Then we went out for sushi for dinner at Times Square.