Week 42: oct 1 to 7

Monday was a quiet day. Robyn and I did a little shopping and we spent the rest of the day enjoying the air con. In the evening we went out to Jalan Alor for dinner.
Lachlan turned 11 on Tuesday. We took Robyn and Allen to Merdeka Square, the City Gallery, past Istana Negara and to lunch for Lachlan's birthday at plan B in Publika. The new Rick Riordan book came out on Lachlan's birthday and about a minute after we bought it, he was reading it already! Steve was home fairly early so we went home after lunch and had a swim.
Wednesday we went to KLCC for some last minute shopping before Robyn and Allen headed home. In the evening we went to Suzi's Corner for steak.
Robyn and Allen left early Thursday morning.We went and had dumplings for dinner as Lachlan's birthday chioce.
Friday and Saturday were pretty quiet, Steve and I had a date night on Friday. We went to Circus for dinner, then to Souled Out for drinks and Retro night. Sunday we spent almost the whole day at 1 Utama shopping centre. For lunch we tried the worlds best sandwich! I had heard about it a while ago, a Malaysian chef won this years best sandwich contest in France. It was inspired by a Vietnamese Bahn mi and it was really yummy!

Week 41: sep 24 to 30

Monday morning Steve left for Lumut for 4 days with work. he stayed at the same resort as Lachlan when he went on school camp earlier in the year. Danae and i went to the High Comm in the morning. After lunch I dropped Danae at Cathy's and took Cathy to the airport to pick up the boys. They had a great time in china, and were quiet at first, a bit overwhelmed by everything they had done I don't think they knew where to start. But once they started they talked the whole way home.
Tuesday I took the kids to Kidzania and went to the furniture shop we had wanted to go to on Sunday. I wanted to find a nice piece to bring back with us, but couldn't decide between two, so I got them both.
Wednesday I went with Cathy and the kids to find a pie shop. She had wanted to order pies for the grand final and wanted to try them first. We went to 2 different shopping centres and they had closed at both. After dropping the kids at Cathy's for a swim and a play, I went home to wait for the furniture to be delivered. Then I picked them up and stayed for a drink, and we decided to go to Las Carretas for dinner.
Thursday morning Steve's mum and her partner arrived. We had a quiet day and went for a walk to KLCC. Steve arrived home from Lumut in the evening and I went to the college to pick him up.
I took Robyn, Allen and the kids to Batu caves and the Royal Selangor pewter factory. On the way home I got a text from Michelle asking if Lachlan wanted to go to the Malaysian Open tennis with her and Alex. They watched the quarter final between
We all went to the Manhatten Fish Market for dinner at the Pavillion, picking Lachlan up on the way.
On Saturday we went to Cathy and Al's to watch the grand final. It was a great game and we had a good day (and night).
We had a quiet morning on Sunday, then went to Chinatown in the afternoon and had dinner at the Hard Rock on the way home.

Lachlan making naan, Robyn in the fish spa, Allen hammering pewter at Royal Selangor, Batu Caves, Petronus towers, the girls on grand final day, monkey at Batu Caves.

Week 40: Sep 17 to 23

Monday was a public holiday for Malaysia Day, which is why we went to Langkawi for the weekend. After breakfast and a swim we headed for the airport. We arrived home at Dua at about 3. We quickly unpacked and packed Lachlan's things, then Steve and Lachlan went to get haircuts and Danae and I met them at KLCC so we could have some dinner and get a few groceries. Cathy drove Lachlan and I to the airport with Ryan, and I will take her to pick them up next Monday. The boys were so excited, China is going to be a great experience for them!
It was a quiet week without Lachlan. We went out for dinner a few times and tried 2 new restaurants, La Boca (a newly opened Latin American place at the Pavillion and Souled Out).

Here is Lachlan's itineray for the week:
Tuesday:
6:35am arrive in Beijing
Dim Sum breakfast
Zoo
Lunch at local restaurant, then hotel check in
Acrobatic Show
Dinner
Wednesday:
breakfast at hotel
day at school
Thursday:
The Mutianyu Great Wall, cable car and tobaggan
Ya Siu market
dinner at local restaurant
Friday:
Forbdden City
lunch at local restaurant
Beihai Park and Hu Tong for trishaw ride and learn to make dumplings
Saturday:
Temple of Heaven
Panjiayuan market
China Museum and Tea House
Sunday:
Summer Palace and cruise on Kunming Lake
The Opera House of National Grand Theatre
Tiananmen Square
Beijing National Stadium and National Aquatics Centre
Monday:
transfer to airport and fly home

Thursday night after spending the whole day looking for something for Danae to wear to school for bookweek on Friday, we got news of a demonstration in front of the US embassy on Friday afternoon. We were told that there would be no transport home from school provided as the main road (the one we live on) would be closed, and were encouraged by the embassy to keep the kids home for the day. So Danae missed her last day of school and missed bookweek.
Saturday Steve did some study and we went to Viva, a mall of furniture and homeware stores and then did groceries.
Sunday we went to Damansara to look at furniture, but the shop we wanted to go to was closed and IKEA was packed so we came back home.

Week 39: Sep 10 to 16

Monday Steve handed in 2 papers he has been working on for a while and he was relieved to be finished. He was home late all week though.
Tuesday night we went out for dinner at Chinoz, Wednesday night Toni and I went out for a drink at the Traders.
Thursday night Lachlan had a musical performance at school.
I kept the kids home from school Friday as we were flying to Langkawi at 3:10. Steve went to work and I spent the morning packing. At about 10 I asked the kids if they wanted to go and see Will and Kate in KLCC park. They didn't seem that excited but said sure, so we got ready and walked over to the park. The main road we live on was blocked to traffic and halfway to the park we saw the entire procession drive past. We got a spot right on the fence and waited for another 20 minutes. They walked by quite quickly but looked gorgeous. We then were interviewed by British tv, which Lachlan was most excited about. We went back home, waited for Steve to get home, then drove to the airport. We arrived at our hotel in Langkawi by 5 and went straight out to have a walk around and an early dinner. The service was great, much better than we are used to in KL. the kids even got free ice cream.
The next day we had a relax by the pool and the beach after breakfast. Then we walked down Pantai Cenang to have lunch and do some duty free shopping. We went back to the hotel, played some 500, then caught a taxi to the jetty for our sender cruise. The cruise was great! Free flow drinks, great food, the crew were all so lovely and friendly. We even had a long chat with the owner of the company who also owns the restaurant we went to the night before. The view was spectacular and after sailing for about an hour they put the 'saltwater jacuzzi' net out. Just before we got on the boat it was raining quite heavily so it was a nice surprise to get a beautiful sunset. Lachlan spent a lot of time practicing on his new camera he got on Friday morning as an early birthday present.

We hired a car in Sunday. Our first stop was Oriental Village and Cable Car. There was a big queue and all up we spent over 3 hours there. Though unfortunately between Lachlan's camera, Danae's iPod and my phone none of us had a camera with any battery life, so after 1 photo of the view halfway up the cable car we had no photos for the rest of the day. After the cable car we were going to drive up to the waterfall, but decided it was later than we had wanted to leave so we didn't. We stopped at black sand beach and then drove to Kuah, the main town in Langkawi island. We went to a Chinese seafood restaurant for dinner.

Week 38: Sep 3 to 9

Steve had exams Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and has two papers due next Monday.
Monday I went to Chinatown with Cathy, we went to look for outfits for the trivia night (Olympics theme), but couldn't find anything suitable. So I think we will be resorting to togas.
I went to have a Thai massage at Chankat Bukit Bintang. I have found a great place, they do a great job (though this time I came away with a tender back) and I love the decor and ambiance of the place, and just under $30 for 2 hours!
Wednesday steve finished early because he did his last exam for the semester. We planned on going out for lunch, but just as we were leaving it atarted pouring rain, so we had Japanese at the restaurant here at Dua. That night was the Junior School Production at school. It was fantastic! Each year had a different theme, but they all used lights and music. And the whole thing was done around (and even over) the pool, while the parents watched from the balconys.
Ryan slept over Friday night and after a quick swim, we went out to Jalan Alor with Michelle, Michael, Sarah and Clark, and of course all the kids.
Saturday we mostly spent the day at home. Ryan and Lachlan playing together and swimming. Saturday night we went to the Trivia night at school. It was Olympic theme and like half the people there Cathy, Al, Steve and I wore togas. Michelle, Julie, her husband and son were on our table as well. It was a good night and I think we came about 5th. I did win tickets to Legoland that has only just opened in Malaysia, but its about 4 hours drive away. Hopefully we can go down for a weekend before we leave.
Sunday we went out for lunch, though I cant remember where now and Steve finished up and printed his papers due the following day.

Week 37: August 27 to Sep 2

We spent most of Monday still traveling home and arrived back in KL at about 3pm. We all slept for most of the hour long taxi drive home. After unpacking we went to KLCC for an early dinner and grabbed a few groceries, then an early night.
I decided to keep the kids home from school Tuesday, even though they seemed fine Monday night and it was a good thing I did because they slept in until about 10. Steve went to work though and I spent most of the day checking emails and washing clothes.
Wednesday the kids went back to school and Steve was home early enough for us to have lunch together, so we went to TWG tea for lunch.
Thursday the kids had International Day at school, we went down in the afternoon and watched some Gaelic football and dancing. That night Steve had a function and Toni came over for a drink and a to catch up on what we all did on our holiday. The guys came home at about 12:30 and after one more drink we went to bed.
Friday was a public holiday for Merdeka Day, malaysia's independence day. Steve and I had a pretty big sleep in and we spent most of the day at home. We went to go out to Jalan Alor for dinner and stopped at the Pavillion on the way for a drink and to watch the footy, then we didn't really feel like walking any further so we went to the newly opened pub at the Pavillion, Tom, Dick & Harry's.
Saturday I went and had a long overdue pedicure and did a grocery shop while Steve did some study and took the kids for a swim. We went out to Suzi's corner with Clark, Sarah, Michelle, Michael and their kids.
Sunday we went out in the morning for breakfast, but the place we had planned on going to wasn't open for breakfast, so we had Starbucks instead. We then went to Sungei Wang and had a look around and got some DVDs. We went home after lunch and Steve studied for his exams the following week.

Week 36: August 20 to 26

Monday was our first port stop. It was Corfu and we just wondered around on our own. The shopping in Corfu was good and we saw some sights, had lunch at a trattoria, and the kids got their silhouettes cut. By about 2:30, it was really getting hot so we headed back to the ship early. We spent a bit of time by the pool after cooling down in our cabin, then the kids went to kids club later in the afternoon for a little while. We had an early dinner in the dining room, the kids went back into kids club for a little while. We went to get them to go and watch the evening show and they were both dressed up in foil and stuff for some type of contest and all the kids were deciding who was the winner. By the time we got to the show there were no seats left but we stood at the back and watched, it was an aerial gymnastics show and was very good.

Tuesday was Santorini and we booked a tour. We didn't get there until lunchtime and spent most of the morning by the pool talking to the English couple we had met. Because of the depth of the water we had to tender and as the towns are on top of the cliff, you get from the port up to the towns either by walking, cable car or donkey. Our tour took us by boat to the old port, then by bus around the island and finished just near the cable car in time to get the cable car down and catch the last boat back to the ship. After driving all the way around the island, we went to Oia (pronounced ee-a). That is the town with all the postcard pictures of the white buildings with blue rooves and windows. We got 2 hours free time to wander around on our own looking at the cute shops and to take photos. Then back on the bus, we went through the main town, Fira to a taverna for a Greek buffet dinner, wine, lots of dancing, and some plate smashing at the end. We were then taken back to Fira for a little bit of free time before heading down the cable car back to the ship, arriving back by 9:30. We had a little bit of dessert at the buffet, then went to bed pretty tired.

 Mykonos was Wednesday and we did a small tour in the morning. It was about a 9 o'clock start and we got on a bus and drove around the island stopping at St. Johns beach were Shirley Valentine was filmed (I hadn't heard of the film, but a lot of people knew of it, so I will have to keep an eye out for it). Then we went to Aphrodite beach and had a bit of a rest on the beach chairs, a quick paddle and a nice cool drink. Then we went to the small village of Anamera and visited a Greek Orthodox church and had a tasting plate of Greek food and some ouzo. Then the bus took us back to the ship. We decided to have lunch on the ship, then head into Mykonos town. We were told the streets of the town were made as a labyrinth to confuse the pirates and keep the town safer, and they were not wrong. We got very lost numerous times and bumped into Ruth and Tim, the English couple that we now knew well enough to call our friends, twice. We made plans to meet up for dinner together in the dining room. The kids ate dinner at the buffet, then went to kids club. Steve and I got ready for dinner with Ruth and Tim. We had a great night and kicked on in the nightclub until about 3am.

 Thursday was one of the most exciting port days. The port town was Katakolo, it is about 20 minutes from Olympia, where the ancient Olympic Hames were held. Lachlan is really into Greek Mythology and we were all excited to see the site. Our tour guide was great and he took us through the site and to the Archaeological Museum. We got to see the altar where they light the torch for each Olympics, the temple ruins, and ran on the ground of the stadium. Then we had a guided tour around the Archaeological Museum where they have the reains of the statues and other bits from the site. After Olympia, we got back on the bus and went to an olive farm and winery. We had a glass of white wine on arrival to drink as we learnt about the olive picking process. Then we went inside for a beautiful lunch with lots of little tastings of different Greek food, almost entirely sourced from the farm itself, a bottle of red wine and of course more dancing. Full and a little tired we were taken back to Katakolo and the ship. Steve and the kids went onboard to swim and relax and I went for a walk along the street of Katakolo for one last shopping fix in Greece. We went to trivia in the early evening which we had done every day since day 2 and tied with 2 other teams. We had dinner in  the dining room and then went to the buffet for dessert, they do a huge chocolate buffet.

 Friday was our last full day on the ship, after breakfast we spent the morning by the pool. We had a bbq lunch by the pool, then the kids went into kids club. Steve and I went to a music trivia, then Steve did some work while I read. We got the kids out of kids club for dinner in the buffet, then put them in and Steve and I went to the Churrascaria for dinner. After dinner we got the kids out of kids club and we all went to the finale show in the theatre. It was really good. We went back to our room and packed and went to bed.
Saturday was time to leave the ship :( We had breakfast and were one of the first off the ship at about 9:30. We had to get to the centre of Venice by ferry or water taxi. We chose the water taxi as, besides the people that disembarked our ship with us there were also another two ships with people getting off and there were lots of people lining up for the ferry. The taxi was not cheap and we also paid for a water taxi to the airport the following morning. We got to our hotel and left our bags and wondered around Venice. We went to Saint Marks Square, Saint Mark's Basilica, The Bridge of Sighs, Rialto Bridge, had pizza for lunch, and just wandered around until about 3, then we went back to the hotel to go into our room and have a shower, it was really hot. Our hotel was really stunning, the room was enormous, especially for Venice standards, and beautifully decorated in lilac and gold. Everything was monogrammed with the hotel logo, including doors, toiletries and the rubbish bin. Steve and the kids stayed at the hotel (Steve had some work to do on the internet) and I went out again and had more of a look around, there were so many beautiful shops and things to look at. I returned at about 6 and we went out for dinner, had a little bit more of a walk around, then went to a gelati place/bar and the kids had gelati, Steve had a beer and I had a canoli and a glass of Frangelico..yum. Then we went to bed, as we had to get up early to get to the airport.

We caught our water taxi at 6:30 Sunday morning and flew back the same way, but had a stopover in Dusseldorf instead of Berlin. We had a longer stopover in Abu Dahbi for 6 hours in the middle of the night but it wasn't too bad.