Week 35: August 13 to 19

This week we are all getting excited about our trip at the end of the week.
Not much happened Monday. The kids got home late from school as it rained in the afternoon, whenever it rains traffic is usually heavier and we are still in Ramadan, so the traffic was doublet bad.
Tuesday I spent most of the day having morning tea with the high comm girls. And I went out with them on Wednesday night to the skybar at Traders Hotel, after getting a haircut.
Thursday there was another shoe party. I didn't order any this time. We went out to dinner, but a lot of places were booked out or too busy because of Ramadan. So we decided on a German pub and restaurant at the Pavillion.
Friday was spent sleeping in, and packing, apart from Steve going to the High Comm and getting a haircut ( Lachlan also got his haircut). We left home at 4 to go to the airport. We flew out at 8:30pm and arrived in Abu Dhabi six and a half hours later. We had 3 hours until our next flight, but by the time we walked to the terminal and had a coffee and chai, there wasn't too long to wait. We then flew another six and a half hours to Berlin, and had 3 hours there as well. I must look German because everyone spoke to me in German. The last leg was only an hour and a half, then a 20 minute taxi ride, an hour check in and we were finally onboard the Norwegian Jade. It looked very familiar and we soon realised it used to be the Pride of Hawaii (the same ship we did our Hawaiian cruise on).

a nice shot at the airport; a rare KL sunrise and not so rare haze; fantastic bakery in Berlin; Petronus towers from the skybar of the Traders on ladies night.

 After settling in, having some lunch and of course our safety brief, we sailed out of Venice at 6. It was spectacular!
Sunday was a sea day. We met a lovely couple from England, who became good friends by the end of the cruise. We spent some time by the pool and the kids spent a bit of time in kids club. Lachlan was a little disappointed that he wasn't old enough for the teens room, but was still happy enough to have other boys his age and a bit older with him in the kids club. We had teppanyaki for dinner and the kids thought all the theatrics were great, the food was very good too.

French Alps from the plane; Berlin; our teppinyaki chef; Venice from the plane (our ship is the one in front)

Week 34: August 6 to 12

Not much happening this week, Steve is working hard on his paper and we are saving up our energy for our upcoming trip. Steve went away to the northern border area for work from Wednesday to Friday.

Monday was a public holiday for the kids, but not for Steve. I took then out for lunch and we went to buy some DVDs.

Wednesday I went to Brickfields ( little India) for lunch with some high comm ladies for one of their birthdays. We had some beautiful Indian vegetarian food.

Thursday I spent some time with Toni. We went to Delicious for lunch, then came upstairs for margaritas. The kids and I went to KLCC for sushi for dinner.

Friday I went out to run some errands. Then we had drinks by the pool with the kiwis in the afternoon.

Saturday was spent at home, then we went out for dinner at Las Carretas with Cathy, Al and the kids.
Sunday we went out to Ike's and the Curve because we had to come back early last time when Lachlan was sick. We had lunch at Bubba Gump.

Week 33: July 30 to Aug 5

A quiet week again this week. Steve is working hard on his Commandant's paper. There is not much on tv at the moment and the Olympic coverage here is kind of difficult to watch, so we have been watching our new favourite tv series, Friday Night Lights. We bought the first series ages ago, but have only just started watching it and we are really into it.

Tuesday I went and got a pedicure, with mum and dad here and school holidays, I was well overdue for one. I was also overdue for a big grocery shop, so I did that as well.

Wednesday I took Ryan's mum, Cathy to Publika because she hadn't been and we had lunch at Plan B.

Thursday Steve was finished by mid morning, so we went to Chinatown to get him some swimmers, and get some flowers. We also had lunch at Old China Cafe. We went down to the school for a meeting for The China trip Lachlan will be going on in September. After the meeting we got to watch Danae play netball for a bit, then drove home in the crazy traffic. Cathy and the kids came for a swim then we all went out for dinner at Delicious.

Friday was like most other Fridays, but Steve went to the High Comm in the afternoon so we didn't get to have lunch together. We spent the evening by the pool, then came up for dinner. Steve got a write up in the school newsletter about the AFL game last weekend.

Saturday we had some people over in the afternoon to watch the rugby super 25 final, then we ended up watching AFL afterwards. I made Mexican for dinner, it was a good evening.
Sunday was pretty quiet. We spent the morning at home, then went to Sunway Pyramid shopping centre.

Week 32: July 23 to 29

It's been a fairly quiet week this week, getting back into routines. Lachlan and Danae started After School Activities this week. This semester Danae does dancing on Mondays and netball on Thursdays and Lachlan does tennis on Wednesdays and soccer on Thursdays. With Ramadan, the traffic can be bad in the evenings so when they come home from ASAs on the late bus they can be 10 minutes late or an hour late.
I had a morning tea with some High Comm ladies on Tuesday morning, then some of us went on to have lunch at the Albion hotel, then did a little shopping. Tuesday night just as we came upstairs after a swim to get dinner ready we had a blackout in the whole building, so we went out for dinner and had sushi.
On Thursday all the defense people were invited to the High Commissioners residence for a medal presentation ceremony for one of the army guys who lives in Johor baru, followed by lunch.
Friday was pretty much the usual drinks by the pool.
We went out for breakfast Saturday morning, then Steve, Lachlan and Danae went to get Lachlan's haircut and I went to a furniture expo at the Convention Centre. In the afternoon Steve took the kids and Ryan to school for a parents and teachers versus high school students AFL game. Steve played full forward for three quarters and kicked 9 goals then he umpired the last quarter and Lachlan and Ryan ran boundarys. I had planned to go to some night markets with Louise from the High Comm, which is why I didn't go with them. The markets were good. After the football game Steve dropped Lachlan at Ryan's for a sleepover, and ended up staying for a drink. I got dropped off there as well and we stayed until about midnight.
Sunday was pretty quiet, Steve studied and Danae and I watched some master chef on the computer ( I already know who won from Facebook, but I'm still enjoying watching it. I'm about half way through). I picked up Lachlan and we went to Suzi's corner for dinner.

Week 31: July 16 to 22

We arrived back home around lunchtime Monday and spent the afternoon unpacking, Steve studied, and we went to KLCC in the evening to have dinner and get a few groceries.
Tuesday Steve went back to work and the kids and I stayed home doing some washing and watching tv. We went out for dinner with Mel, Leigh and Ella to Las Carretas as they were leaving for Dubai this week.
Wednesday the kids started back at school and I had lunch with Cathy and Mel. It turned into a long lunch as we went back to Cathy's for some wine and Steve got the kids off the bus and dropped them at Cathy's on his way to a function.
Steve had a morning tea at the High Comm Thursday morning, then had the rest of the day off. We met for lunch, then went to get some groceries. Steve also had Friday off for study, we went to IKEA and the curve and to a pub for lunch. Friday night we went out for dinner at 7atenine with a group of people for Janelle's birthday. It was a great night.
The weekend was pretty quiet. Steve did some work and we watched quite a bit of footy. On Saturday evening Steve and the kids went to Colonel Toh's for a party (I wasn't feeling the best). We were invited out to Out of Africa on Sunday for lunch with Michelle and her family. Out of Africa is a sports club with an Olympic sized pool and a south African restaurant, it's a great place for adults to have a drink and talk while the kids swim.

Saturday was the start of Ramadan here. Ramadan is when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, then they have a big feast in the evening. Ramadan lasts for a month and ends with Hari Raya, a celebration similar to Christmas. So it is an interesting time here in Malaysia. Steve gets one week off for the whole year, and it's during Hari Raya, in mid August. For those who don't know, we have planned a trip to Venice and a cruise around the Greek Islands for our week off. It will be tiring, but we are really excited about it!

Week 30: July 9 to 15

What a busy and exciting week!

Monday was quiet, Lachlan was still feeling unwell.
Tuesday afternoon Michelle and her girls came over for a swim. Lachlan and Danae were invited to their place for a sleepover that night, so Steve and I went out for a drink and dinner, but came home fairly early as Steve had some work to do.
Wednesday I went with Sarah, Michelle Donna and Toni on another KL explorers tour to Petaling Jaya to see some furniture stores. Afterwards I picked up the kids and Danae went to Ella's for another sleepover.
On Thursday I took Ella Danae and Lachlan to lunch and the movies. And we packed for our trip to Cambodia and had an early night.

We had to get up early Friday morning to get to the airport for our flight. It took 2 hours to fly from KL to Siem Reap and when we got to our hotel we were able to check in early and our tour guide was ready. On our first day we saw the temples of Angkor Thom, Bayon, Baphoun, Pimean Akas and the Elephant Terrace and Taprohm (the temple in the movie Tomb Raider, and Steve's favourite). With a stop in the middle for some lunch. We got back to our hotel around 4:30, had a swim to cool off, then headed into the tourist area in the centre of town for dinner and a quick look around.

Saturday after our buffet breakfast we had an early start and saw the temples of Preah Khan, Neak Poan, Ta Som, and East Mebon. We were then taken back to the hotel for a complimentary lunch. We also had a bit of a relax. We were picked up again by our driver and guide at 3:30 and we went to a market, then to an artisan school, kind of like TAFE were young people get selected to learn the crafts of silk painting, laquering, wood carving, silversmithing, soapstone carving, or sandstone carving. Then we headed about 20 minutes south of Siem Reap towards Tonle Sap (Great Lake). We got on a boat and were taken down the river past a floating village and to the edge of the lake. We got off the boat onto a floating restaurant/shop/information center/crocodile enclosure and went up the top to watch the sunset. On the way back, Steve and Lachlan drove the boat most of the way until our boat driver quickly took the wheel back as he said "oooh police up here". When we got back to Siem Reap the driver dropped us off in the centre of town, we had some great Mexican food, had a wander around the night markets, and all four of us got a relaxing foot massage.

Sunday was our last full day in Cambodia, we slept in a little, had breakfast then headed off for some more temples. First we went to Banteay Srei, which was my favourite. Then we drove about 30 km through villages to Banteay Samre. On the way back we stopped for lunch, and after lunch we visited the famour Angkor Wat temple, which was both Lachlan and Danae's favourite. Our three day tour finished at about 3 and we got back to our hotel, had a quick swim, then Steve and I went for our complimentary traditional massage. After a rest in our room we headed into the town centre one last time. We had a drink and a snack at the Mexican we had been to the night before ($1.50 margaritas are too good to pass up!). Then we had a wander around for a couple of hours and chose to have dinner at a Cambodian barbecue restaurant. We got 10 different types of meat (including crocodile, ostrich, frogs legs, snake) to cook on our own tabletop barbecue, along with noodles and veges which get cooked in a broth around the edge. It was a great experience, but Danae was dissapointed she didn't get to try kangaroo because they had run out. After dinner we got a tuk-tuk home for a good nights sleep before flying home.

Week 29: July 2 to 8

This week Steve was away with work for the working week and I took Mum and Dad with the kids to Melaka.
Steve left Monday for Johor Baru (the southern town on the coast before you cross the bridge into Singapore). They stayed threre two nights, but spent a lot of the day time in Singapore. Then they went to Melaka for two nights. We got to see hime for a very short time in Melaka while we were there.
Monday was pretty quiet, and we set off Tuesday morning. After checking in, we had some lunch, walked around Jonker St and some of the shops. Then we went back to the hotel and had a swim before going out for dinner.
Wednesday we went up to St Pauls church, where it started to rain. Then we went down to the river cruise and as soon as we got in the boat it poured raining. The cruise was still good, but by the time we got to shelter after the cruise we were drenched, some more than others. So we walked back to the hotel using as much shelter as we could, and all had showers and dried off. After a fresh change of clothes it was still raining. There was a big mall across the road from our hotel, so we went for lunch then Dad took the kids to the movies to see Madagascar 3 while Mum and I did some shopping. Finally the rain stopped so later in the afternoon we set out to try and find somewhere that was showing the State of Origin. I wasn't too hopeful, but we found a great little bar with a really friendly owner, who put it on for us. After the game finished we went to Jonker Street for dinner. Steve arrived in Melaka as we were finishing dinner, so we met up with him for a bit, but he had a very early start the next day.
Thursday, we did a little last minute bits and pieces, then drove home. We went out for fish and chips that evening.

Friday, we went out in the afternoon to the Pavillion and BB Plaza. Steve came home in the early afternoon and we spent the afternoon by the pool having a drink with the Kyla and Logan, then Mel. We came upstairs for dinner and Mel and Ella came too.
Saturday we spent most of the day at home, Mum and Danae did another batik painting, Steve studied and we played some board games. Saturday night we went back to Jalan Alor for dinner, as it was Mum and Dad's favourite place we ate during their stay.
Mum and Dad left for Singapore Sunday morning and we went out to IKEA and the mall next to it, but almost as soon as we got there Lachlan was unwell and threw up, so we came home.