Luxury, Food, Sleep and More Food!!

We arrived back in KL earlier than my parents but had been given the confirmation to take to the hotel so we could check in before them. Last time we had arrived in KL it had been really easy to get about and find our way to the hostel so we decided to get the monorail from the station drop off to the hotel. There was a station right by it so it would be easy. However, outside it was raining, pouring and when we got to the monorail station there was a big crowd of people and we were gutted to find out that it wasn’t running. We were told we could take a bus so we walked across the road to get the bus which was packed out and dropped us off about 5 minutes down the road actually right at the end of the road where we had stayed the first time round. We got off that bus and tried to figure out where the hell the next one would leave from. We walked in the rain around the corner and finally found a stop with the right bus. Or so we thought. On we got and asked if it went to the road the hotel was on. On the map we had it looked like a very long road and in the end the guys on the bus had no idea where we wanted to go or had never heard of our hotel. I mean it was a big 5 star hotel, I thought a bus driver would have heard of it. They then told us to get off at a shopping mall and told us that our hotel was in the shopping mall!! Confused and annoyed we got off the bus and asked the guard in the mall who said it was a 15 minute walk up the road. It was still raining so we hailed a cab and finally within minutes we were pulling up into a driveway of a huge glittering hotel. The doors were opened by doormen, our luggage taken in on trolleys and we were ushered to reception. The lobby was massive with dual spiral staircases going up in the middle and a piano lounge bar underneath them.

I thought perhaps we would have some trouble checking in without dad as it was all in his name and on his credit card, but it was no problem. We established which room we were in and grabbed our bags off the trolley, as the porter was not about, which would also save us having to tip (there’s nothing worse than tipping rubbish cos you can’t afford a lot. It’s best not to bother at all in that case, but then you feel even worse cos you’re staying in a 5 star hotel and don’t tip!!) and headed up to the room.

The room was amazing, very big and plush with a huge king size bed and the bathroom was about the same size as our spare bedroom at home. It was great!! We dumped our bags, looked at each other and ran and jumped on the bed like little kids! After 8 months travelling – this was bliss!

We showered and watched TV and waited for my parents to arrive. I rang reception to ask them to call us when they checked in and a couple of hours later my dads voice was on the phone saying they were down stairs. They were coming up in the lift, so I ran out into the corridor like a child on Christmas morning and the doors pinged open and there they were. Oh it was soooooo good to see them. I hugged my mum and we both shed a tear – what a reunion! Haha.

We settled them into the hotel (after finding out that we had actually been given their room as it was better with a balcony view of the twin towers – but they did refuse to take it and swap with us – we tried!!) and we got ready to go out for dinner.

Dad has been to KL quite a few times on business and he said he knew of a good place nearby, so we went for a walk to find it. The thing was that it had been a while since Dad had been in KL and he had to get his bearings. We walked and walked and were looking for an Irish bar on the corner, but we came to the main junction and couldn’t find it anywhere. It was getting late so we found a steak house and went in.

It was so surreal to be sitting in KL with my parents having dinner. It was lovely. We ordered some wine which was amazing and steak and the whole meal was delicious. A real feast for us.

Breakfast was included in our stay so we got up early and went down and oh my lord – what a spread!! Bread and cheese and olives and curry and fresh made omelets, fruit and whatever you could imagine! It was brilliant. I gorged myself on brie and bread – yummy!!

That morning we went back to hand in our passports as clearance had come for our Indian visas, so we decided to meet up with mum and dad later at the KL Tower. You can go up the Petronas Towers (the Twin Towers) but you have to queue early in the morning and then return at a designated time for your 15 min slot to walk along the bridge and quite frankly the KL Tower is higher and much better. It’s like a much bigger Euromast in NL. The views are pretty impressive and you get a great 360 degree view over the city with a headset with a lady who sounds like she’s being held at gunpoint, telling you what you can see from each window.

Following the Tower, mum and dad headed back to the hotel to sit around the lovely pool and Tymon and I went for an extra walk around town, as this time we were staying in the classy part! It was much nicer than seedy China Town. We headed towards the Twin Towers which are the tallest Twin Towers in the world…now. There’s a big shopping mall attached to one of the towers so we went to have a look around and grab some lunch before heading back towards the hotel. We walked through a lovely park which had a huge playground in for kids and a fountain pool area which was packed. It was so lovely. I have never seen such a large play area for kids in a public park; it was so nice, something that would be great in the UK – although it would probably be vandalized within a week!

Back at the hotel we joined mum and dad by the pool for a quick swim before relaxing in the room, taking a bubble bath and getting ready for dinner.

That morning while we had gone to do our visas mum and dad had gone for a walk again to look for this Irish restaurant/bar as dad was adamant he knew where it was. It had taken them a while but finally they had found it. It was closed down! That was why we had walked right by it, but dad knew where things were now so we grabbed a cab and headed to a road not far away which was full of bars and restaurants. We went to a lovely Latin bar for some pre dinner drinks and it was so sophisticated. I was just gutted I didn’t have anything nice to wear. I am so sick and tired of living in the same 5/6 outfits everyday no matter what the occasion!! But the drinks were great and dinner even better. Dad took us to a tapas restaurant that he has been to before where they do suckling pig which he wanted to have. But the tapas just looked too good for Tymon and I so we ordered that which we shared and then the suckling pig. But it was a whole charade that came with the pig. First they brought it whole to the table and then with a plate the waiter gets one of you to make the first cut with it. Tymon did the honours and after you’ve made the first cut you then smash the plate. It was all quite good fun. They then take the pig away to cut it up properly. It was much better than the pig we had had in Cantho, Vietnam, but I have to admit – I’m not actually a fan. I thought I liked suckling pig but infact I don’t really. I like pork belly with a bit of crispy skin but the rest of it has too strong a flavour for me. But another gorgeous meal had been eaten and completely stuffed we headed back to the hotel.

After another eat till you burst breakfast, for our final day in KL we went to a butterfly farm and bird avery. Both were really big and open with nets high above so that they are enclosed, but for the most part it’s as if they are free. Both were really nice. The bird park was a bit too big for mum to walk around so after seeing the best part her and dad went back to the hotel while Tymon and I finished up. Towards the end of the park it started to pour with rain and at the entrance they only had organized taxis that you had to pre pay a fixed amount for which was quite a lot. We didn’t want to pay that as personally I think it’s a big rip off and before I forget actually the taxis in KL are disgusting! By law they are supposed to be metered, but when you get in they won’t put it on and will charge you a lot up front. When you stop a taxi and ask them to put the meter on they refuse so you have to flag down about 5 taxis before you find a legit one. It’s so annoying. But when we confronted several drivers they said it’s a pact that taxi drivers have made as the metered fares set by the government are too low. They just don’t cover the time and cost for the drivers, and I have to admit, fares are really cheap! What would cost you GBP10 in a black cab back home would cost you about GBP3 in KL. So you can kind of understand their viewpoint but it’s still really irritating.

But anyway, we couldn’t find a cab so we waited by the main road hoping to get one but a local guy at the bus stop with some tourists said that none would stop as they all have to go via the registered pre paid booth. The next thing you know he is offering to drive us into town. He said he was a private tour guide and he said he’d take us for a decent price so we agreed and got in the car. Now ordinarily you’d think this was a recipe for disaster, but the Malaysians are so friendly. We didn’t feel threatened or that he was going to drive us off into the middle of nowhere so we hopped in back to town. And it was fine, he dropped us off as promised where we needed to go. We did a spot of shopping before going to collect our passports. Mum and dad needed beach towels for our next stop, Sibu Island, so afterwards we went to the market mall to see if we could get them some cheap ones. I found some in a personalized embroidery shop so we decided to buy them as a present. We got their names and the Malaysian flag put on and 2010 so they would remember this vacation!!

Their response was funny – dad just opened the bag and looked at it and said ‘oh Cathy…’ and stuffed it back in the bag. He didn’t even realize that they were personalized! Hahaha. But hopefully they liked them, even though it meant more baggage for them to take home.

That night came another, if not the best dinner! Oh my goodness it was such a feast every day! Tonight we walked back to the main strip where we had been the night before and went to an Italian, and we knew we’d hit jackpot when at the back of the restaurant we saw a ham counter with all the antipasto meats – wow! We swiftly ordered some crisp white wine and a plate of meats, which on arrival I nearly demolished all by myself. The serano ham was incredible and salami oh yum – it was heaven!! We’d also ordered mains of pasta etc but couldn’t finish. It was all soooo utterly delicious, probably the best Italian I’ve had, but it was too much. Already in 3 days I felt like I’d gained a stone! (And probably had lols!) So with a belly that could pass for a 6 month pregnancy we returned to the hotel for our final night in utter luxury before heading to Sibu Island where we had a completely different kind of trip awaiting.

Dad had managed to find a hotel on a small island not far from Tioman Island in S.E Malaysia. He said it was going to be very basic huts on the beach and the resort was all there was. It was on a cove island all to itself and you had to walk through the jungle across the island to get to next resort. It sounded great – complete relaxation. We’d pre-purchased our bus tickets so arrived at the bus station and boarded for the 6 hour journey. Dad had already booked a pick up for us to take us to the island so when we got off the bus the driver was waiting for us. We piled into the private minibus thinking that we would have a quick 10 minute ride to the jetty to get the boat to the island, so were surprised when we found out we had another 3 hour journey out to the coast. The traffic was really bad so when we finally hit the narrow winding roads, we were all holding on for dear life as the driver put his foot to the floor! Finally we arrived at the jetty and got on the boat for the 20 mins journey to Sibu.

It was so funny to see mum and travelling like this, on a bus and getting on a boat and putting on life jackets. Tymon and I and dad to some extent, are so used to schlepping from place to place by bus or train, but it was strange to have mum and dad do it too. But in a good way. I was so happy and proud to be sharing this whole adventure with them.

20 minutes later we pulled up to a beautiful strip of beach surrounded by coral that was twinkling beneath the surface of the turquoise ocean. Beth, the lady who dad had been dealing with was waiting to meet us. She helped us off with our luggage and the porters came and took them to our cabins. I really wasn’t sure what to expect but was thinking it was going to be along the same lines as some of the huts we had stayed in in Thailand, but the cabins where so much nicer. They were really nice and spacious with a nice open bathroom (not completely, but open at the top with a view out) and they weren’t like saunas. Good first impression! As for the rest of the resort, there was one main hut which was the bar/lounge area and a balcony where we ate dinner overlooking the beach and ocean. It was perfect, idyllic and exactly what dad had been hoping for – a break away from it all. Mum was stressing about her hair as she had no hair dryer so I just explained that that’s the way to be on the beach – au naturel!! All our meals were included, breakfast, lunch and dinner and they were set meals which at first I was a bit dubious about, but after the first dinner which was a BBQ I had no worries. Well maybe one – my hips and butt were in for another bashing!!

We were on Sibu for 5 days and it was superb. Dad was right, there was absolutely nothing to do and nowhere to go apart from the beach and ocean. We snorkeled and the coral was beautiful and it was everywhere, so many fish and Tymon even saw a reef shark one day. I was gutted I didn’t see it, although seriously relived also as I think I would have had a heart attack if I had seen it. We sunbathed, drank a lot, ate a LOT, read, played scrabble (which we bought in KL as Tymon and I are now quite addicted) and cards. We only had one days rain but the rest was lovely and hot and cloudy in the afternoon which was nice so it was cooler. It was perfect temperature at night also so the fan was just right – no need for aircon, which they didn’t have anyway.

One day we decided to walk across to the other side of the island to the other resort. It was about a 20 minute walk through the jungle and all four of us went so that meant taking it slow. As most of you know mum suffers real bad from arthritis and has bad feet and unfortunately she isn’t doing too well with her knees at the moment, so it was a really challenging walk for her. All I want to say is – mum I am sooooooo extremely proud of you. You did so well and I can only imagine how frustrating it is for you, but you did it! You were amazing and I hope you are proud of yourself, I know it wasn’t easy for you.

On the otherside the resort was much bigger than ours but also much less intimate. It didn’t have half the charm or appeal as ours so we were really pleased. Also there was no coral this side so we really had gotten the best deal! None of us were eager to walk back through the jungle as we had all gotten bitten to bits! There were sooo many mosquitoes, so we got the resort to take us back on the boat. It only took 5 minutes to round the cove and it was way better than going through the walk again!

We also did a dive trip seeing as we are newly licensed. We went out to a nearby reef island and it was ok. It was nice to be back under water and hone up on our skills but the reef was pretty lifeless and the water real murky. I’m looking forward to the next trip to be able to do some diving in some great places like the Philippines.

As the week went on the oddest thing happened. Mum and dad were up usually fairly early and one morning dad said that at about 7.30am he looked out of the balcony and the tide was completely out for miles. All the coral was exposed and it had looked really spooky. When he told us how far out it had gone I didn’t really believe him as it seemed impossible that it would be out that far, but the following morning we set our alarm and low and behold the tide was out. Far far out. We walked out inbetween the coral and could see all the plants flopped out all jelly like. It was really bizarre. The most puzzling thing was what happened to the clown fish (Nemo’s). Clown fish live in one anemone and don’t leave it, they are fiercely protective of it, so it seemed impossible to think that they got swept out to sea and would return. When we asked the dive instructor about it he said that the anemone was attached to the ocean floor by a cord like stem and the clown fish retreat into this stem when the tide goes out to hide and wait it out. How cool is that? When we were looking at them all exposed the clown fish were in them – madness. We walked to the end of the cove and along the rocks to the point where the cove rounds off and the water starts. Underneath the shallow water we could see the coral shining and shimmering and coral really does look way more beautiful underwater that out of it. Let’s just hope the tidal movements don’t destroy it!

So what else for Sibu…did I say it was heaven? After much relaxation it was time to get back on the boat and head down to Singapore for the final part of the trip with my parents.

The journey to Singapore was much shorter. We had a private transfer again which was great so we could relax and sleep back down the windy roads. We got dropped off right at our hotel and unlike last time we were in a much better hotel. The Royal Chulan it wasn’t (hotel in KL) but it was very nice.

We had 2 days in Singapore with mum and dad before they flew onto Hong Kong so after freshening up we went for a walk around the area. We were staying in Little India so walked through all the streets lined with local restaurants and market stalls selling saris and bangles. We brought some drinks from 7 11 so we could have some drinks in the hotel before dinner.

That night in order to say thank you for taking treating us so much Tymon and I took them for dinner at the all you can eat Japanese restaurant that we got taken to last time we were in Singapore. We were so excited to have the crab and lobster and all the yummy food!! And it didn’t disappoint. It was just as good as last time, although they had hot lobster instead of cold which wasn’t as good, but everything else was just the same so we slowly started through the food stuffing ourselves full!

The next day, after a disturbing night for mum and dad (they moved rooms twice due to noise and aircon problems) and after breakfast that we got given because of the problems, we jumped in a taxi down to Sentosa, the island of Singapore. There’s a lot to do supposedly down there, what with casinos, and a fun parks and beaches, but I have to admit, it’s the most confusing place. We arrived at some sort of main mall type place where they have a big Vegas type show on and the entrance for Universal the mini version and asked around as we had no idea where we needed to go. We finally found out we needed to take the monorail to Sentosa side which we did and then we were right back in the same situation. There were signposts everywhere but not a lot going on. We started walking in one direction but couldn’t walk on the road so had to go back. We found ourselves walking along to the beach which was ok, it looked nice if you had come prepared for the beach but seeing as we had just spent a week on the beach we were hoping to something more. But there was nothing going on so we walked back got in a cab and asked to go a boat quay where we thought we could perhaps pick up a cruise tour. However, on arrival there was only one but it was leaving for another 2 hours or so, so we gave up. We hopped into a cab, dropped mum and dad off at the Singapore Eye (the same thing as the London Eye) and Tymon and I went back to the hotel.

That night, NL were playing in the WC so we decided to head to Orchard Road which is the main shopping street like Oxford Circus to find a bar that dad knew from when he had been in Singapore for business. But unfortunately as with in KL it had been a while and he wasn’t exactly sure where on orchard Road we needed to be. The taxi driver managed to mention the name of an office tower that dad recognized the name of so we got dropped off there. There were a couple of Irish bars and sports bars but dad didn’t think there were the ones so we went for a walk further up the road to find it. However, time was running out. Kick off was imminent and Orchard Road is a long road. It could have been anywhere. So, we headed back to where we had got dropped of and went into a sports bar. We managed to secure a table as it was pretty busy and got to the business of drinking, eating and hupping for Holland. Dad went across the road to have a look at the other bar incase they had a better table, but when he came back he said it was full – but…it was the bar that he had been talking about!! Hahaha. You got there in the end dad!!

And that was it – their time was up and they were leaving first thing in the morning for HK. I couldn’t believe it, time had flown but it had been soooooo good to see them and so great to share the experiences with them. Mum has never done anything like this and I was so happy for her to have travelled to this part of the world.

Tymon and I had another 2 days in Singapore until our flight to Nepal and it was also Tymon’s birthday. The night we had been in Orchard Road, there was a supermarket next to the bar, so I made up and excuse and took mum in to buy a birthday cake for Tymon. It was a bit difficult to pass it off so that he wouldn’t know, but I had a cover. The day mum and dad left was Father’s Day, so he thought I was sorting something out for dad. He didn’t question what was in the bag so I managed to get the cake back to the hotel with no questions asked. Phew! Mum left it with the restaurant staff so the next day at midnight I arranged to have it brought up to the room!

On Sibu we had met a really nice guy called Guy who lived in Singapore so we invited him over to the hotel to have some drinks and watch the football (a Brazil game) and we were pretty chuffed when he turned up! Even though I looked a right mess as I just been to the gym!! Finally.

Anyway I’d arranged for the cake, an Oreo cheesecake, to be delivered to the room, but then Tymon wanted to go down to the Lobby to watch the football, so I then had to sneak about at reception to ask if they could bring it to the Lobby, but then the lady said the cake was in the fridge in the bar we were sitting at so she wouldn’t be able to get it out without him seeing it! So it was all going wrong. But!...thankfully the game ended and after a bit of chat with 10 minutes to go to midnight, Tymon said we should go back up to the room. So I loitered behind and told the lady that the original plan was back on.

Back in the room, 5 minutes later there’s a knock on the door. Tymon opens it and there’s the lady with another guy holding the cake singing Happy Birthday! Lols. Bless her, and Tymon was totally surprised! Ah, mission accomplished! Midnight came and Tymon was 31!! Old bastard!! Hahaha! We ate the cake which was really good, continued on the bacardi and talked the night away.

For his actual birthday I surprised him with a picnic in the botanical gardens. I went back to the store where I had brought the cake as it had a fantastic deli counter and brought parma ham and salami and old Amsterdam cheese!! Olives and garlic butter and baguette. Oh it was like a Saturday afternoon after a trip to Aldi back home. Brilliant. It was a lovely day and I hope he enjoyed it.

And that’s it really; our time in S.E Asia was over. A new adventure was waiting in Nepal and India.

The last 8 months have seemed like a life time and it seems so long that we were in SA.

2 months to go, 2 countries….