ARRIVAL: KL, MALAYSIA !!!

Here we are. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This is the furthest I’ve ever travelled from home. Just shy of the equator. And boy, it’s hot. Our Canadian readers may be rolling their eyes at that, but I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much as I did yesterday.

Our two flights took a total of 19 hours! The trip went by actually quite fast; on these modern airplanes, there are so many things to do it seems. So many movies and tv shows to watch, so much music to listen to! Megan watched several episodes of Modern Family; I watched DarK Knight Rises, Community and Wallander. Beside us, sat an elderly Hong Kong man; he had trouble working his tv console, but in the end, with my help, he chose Step Up 3D Revolution. He seemed quite entertained by all that dancing.

For a total of 20 hours, we didn’t see any sunshine due to the direction we were travelling and the time in which we left. We slept off and on during the plane ride. We saw the sun rise in Hong Kong and then caught a quick 4hour flight to KL.

Mark looking devilish.

At the airport, we were met by a man from our school named Eric; he took us into the neighbourhood in which we would be working and living: Bandar Sunway. And boy! It is like Disneyland! It’s actually called Sunway Integrated Resort City. Inside: condos everywhere; a water park; an amusement park; a zoo; international universities; our school; a huge 4 story mall with a pyramid on top, inside this mall, there’s Burger King, Quiksilver, Billabong, a giant bookstore, a movie theatre and a skating rink!

We got set up in the university residence (where we were going to stay for two nights), then headed over to our principal’s condo where we sat next to an infinity pool, drank some Carlsbergs, and got to know our new boss John. We retired early due to the jet lag.

The next day, we headed into downtown KL, which is about 30 minutes away by subway. We explored Chinatown, saw the Petronas Towers and rode the monorail! KL is such an interesting mix of the very old and the very new; the high tech monorail snakes its way past ancient neighbourhoods and modern skyscrapers.

Hard Rock Cafe: My parents international fave!

The Petronas Towers were amazing to behold. I remembered them from that movie Entrapment starring Sean Connery and Catherine Xeta Jones; at one point, they are dangling from the outside of the connecting bridge. How suspenseful!

As of writing this, we’ve bought two overnight bus tickets, which will take us into Southern Thailand by morning. Then, we will journey northward through Thailand (stopping at some islands and beaches, Bangkok, Chiang Mai), then into Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia! Stay tuned!

Hey there! Megs here…

Well, WE MADE IT!  And not a bad journey at that really…. I slept for about 7 hours straight on the first plane, watched a flick and many episodes of Modern Family and then we were there.  Mark benefitted from my picky nature when it comes to food, as I handed him this and that on the plane (with no trade back I might add—one of my favourite things to do with fellow passengers on planes).  Haha

So we are sitting in a nice air-conditioned Starbucks,of all places (one of my Papa’s new favourite places by the way—he loves him some Lettes or latees….latte’s, that’s it J Love ya papa!).  Prior to leaving people asked about the temperature over here in this neck of the woods…I responded with 28-32 degrees year round; Mark constantly correcting me saying “22-28” or something like that….let’s just say that I think I UNDER-averaged the temp.  It is BLOODY BOILING here.  A pool nearby is a must, which is where Mark and I spent our morning. 

So some interesting things of note:

-No inappropriate encounters on the train (no kissing, hand holding ok?)

-When in the supermarket, don’t automatically grab an item and read later….examine the package verrrrrry closely.  My mistake was grabbing an ‘apple juice.’ As we were walking I swigged hard, only to discover these slimey chunks in my mouth….aloe vera….who would have thought APPLE and ALOE VERA go together?!?! The only use for Aloe that I have ever had was for a bad burn….and I applied it externally.

-ALWAYS have extra food/snacks for Mark at the ready….when this boy is ready for food he gets HANGRY (hungry/angry)….I’ve since warned him to have a snack at his disposal at all times.

-when you think of Malaysia as HIGH tech and developed, it definitely is in some sense, but on the other hand we have seen the LOW tech, developing areas.  It really reminds me of aspects of China and Mexico, glitz and glam in some ways, and a little less so in others. 

-when it says spicy here, expect HOT!

-I will NEVER have good hair in this place…I just have to come to terms with that…this heat and humidity is crazzzzzy.  I wonder what my mom will do when she comes to visit?!

Alright, well we need to venture to the supermarket, gather some snacks (hangry Mark is here- jks), and hit the train into the city.  So Thailand awaits us…a 10pm departure gets us into Southern Thailand at 8am, where we will then make our way to the beaches J We’ve got 5 weeks to explore around and enjoy some rest and relaxation….life is starting to get pretty chock full of that….a nice break before we start teaching.  So I’ll sign off now, thanks for checking in on us…we’ll keep posting away as the trip goes on, so keep following!  Take care, miss ya J