Malaysian Experience

Our stop in Kuala Lumpur was primarily for reconnecting with our friends, Sam and LeeAnn Krishnan. Although LeeAnn is Canadian, she married Sam, a Malaysian, in 1999 and they have been living and working in Kuala Lumpur ever since. Of particular note is the ministry work they have been doing – Sam is the leader of a drug rehabilitation centre called Breakthrough and Lee is intricately involved in many areas of the ministry as well as raising their 4 children. 13 years ago, we had our first foray into Malaysia; however, had not seen one another since with limited contact. With both of our families expanded significantly (they have 4 children now), we were excited for our families to explore daily life together.

Breakthrough is a ministry supported by a mega Methodist church in KL – with over 3000 people attending services and involved in programming, it was amazing to enter a Muslim country and join in Sunday services with vibrant worship and a message of hope. Having attended churches in many different countries and of many different denominations, we were curious about this predominantly Chinese congregation. Suffice it to say, that it is near impossible to exit the building without being in some meaningful way connected to an individual or group – offers of meals, coffee, or joining in on various activities abounded. It was an encouragement to see our friends so well supported and involved in a vital faith community!

Kuala Lumpur is an interesting mix of third world and modern development. The downtown core is filled with towering skyscrapers, fancy cars, sophisticated shopping malls, and efficient public transit. Head outside of the core, and you will discover streets filled with adhoc market stalls, random shops, and the ever present hoard of scooters with 4+ passengers drinking pop in a plastic bag (really – everything is in a plastic bag here!).

View from our apartment

View of downtown from our apartment

Typical transportation on major highways

The market can be stressful

It was the daily life of KL we loved. Food is important in Malaysia – good food! Sam and Lee took us to many incredible food spots where we were able to taste Thosai, Roti Telur, Nasi Goreng, the famous Durian fruit (check out the boys’ expressions after eating it), Beef stomach and tendon soup… Eating together and hearing all of the kids make sense of one another’s daily lives in different countries and context was a joy.

King Durian

Kelly did the honours

Their first taste…

…and reaction…

Sam – the expert teacher

Men in the kitchen = good food!

Enjoying some tulse for breakfast

The best beef stomach and intestines around!

Traditional Thosai Tower

The laughter, arguments, and good natured teasing that may have sometimes ended in a few tears was just what our boys needed. Thankfully our apartment complex had a huge pool and with the weather being +36 and feeling like +45 degrees, this was a central gathering place when we weren’t out and about.

We all enjoyed small purchases from our Petaling Street market visits. Sam was outstanding as we walked slightly ahead of him and indicated any items we were interested in. He would then go into the stall and get the “local” bartering price, and not the price including ‘skin tax’ as they refer to it in Malaysia. I liken the bartering in the market to a special kind of dance – facial expressions, posture, and sounds of ‘hmmm…’ and ‘ahhhh’ all combine to equal the art of the barter. Sam was able to abscond with some lovely knock off products at a fraction of the starting price. Kelly and I returned to Petaling street without Sam a few days later and for those of you who know me (Joanne), you will chuckle as I was keen to purchase a sweater for Anderson. As the shopkeeper started off with an outrageous amount, I demonstrated my ‘delicate’ approach which is to say, I firmly believe that a lot of guess work can be avoided by being upfront. True to form, my response was “Right, I was here yesterday with my friend Sam who is Malaysian, and he bought the exact sweater for 25 RM (ringitt). How about, we save time, and you go from your price of 75 RM to 25 RM or I walk?” Needless to say if you liken my bartering move to dancing, you may wish to second guess volunteering as my partner, for your feet may be somewhat battered by the end of the song…but I did get the sweater for 25 RM. Success!

One of our outings involved a trip to the Batu Caves, famous limestone caves and also a central Hindu shrine. With 272 steps leading to the entrance of the caves, it is a daunting climb given the need to be nimble as you avoid the rather ferocious monkeys flitting about looking for any piece of food to scavenge. Every phobia one might have of monkeys may well be proven here and we made sure to strategically pick our route. The gigantic statue of Murugan, a Hindu god dwarfs the cave entrance; however, once up in the caves, the limestone stalagmites and stalactites are remarkable and take over in terms of grandeur. We had to laugh though as of course the kids fascination with chasing pigeons will probably take precedence in their memories – they were obsessed with running into the large flock at the base of the stairs – some of us spent more time ducking our heads in hope of avoiding being hit by special deliveries from the sky as the pigeons flew about!

Our family was so blessed by our time in KL and once again – yes there is a theme here folks…it is the people with whom we spend time with, and next to, not the location, that make this experience special and life changing.

Singing the Praises of Singapore

Our first foray into SouthEast Asia as a family was a week long stay in Singapore. Kelly and I had travelled to Singapore 13 years earlier and as one of our cab drivers indicated – much has changed and much has stayed the same. First off, Singapore is a wonderful city to come to as a family. Thanks to the recommendation of friend and colleague, Jeanie Ross who taught at the Canadian International School in Singapore for two years, we booked in at the Albert Court Hotel using the website www.stayfareast.com. We would recommend both this website and the hotel to anyone looking for excellent accommodation and pricing in what can otherwise be an expensive stay.

Singapore knows how to move people around – efficiency at it’s best. We wonder if our Canadian municipal, provincial, and federal leaders and planners look closely at systems in place in these large cities. The West certainly has some catching up to do in that regard! This time around however, we utilized cabs for getting around as with four people, it was more cost-effective than using the MRT.

Can’t say enough about staying at the Albert Court Hotel – the staff were incredibly welcoming! Of note was the manager taking time to introduce a traditional game called Capteh to the boys. The premise is the same as juggling a soccer ball; however, it’s a feather attached to a small weight. Quite a challenge actually, and perfect for confined spaces with no fear of breaking things! It also seemed that each time the boys passed through the foyer they were entertained by various ‘magic’ tricks courtesy of the doorman, Jamal. With the boys dipping their toes into Asian style breakfasts, we loved the buffet every day and it was great to see them trying food such as various noodle and curry dishes for breakfast.

 

Boys learning to play Capteh – notice the small yellow feather to the left of the photo.

Singapore is a great first introduction to Asian culture as there is enough ‘western familiarity’ that for our young boys, they were not completely overwhelmed. We made sure to listen to the recommendations of our cab drivers and one thing they all had in common: a love for great hawker stall food. Aside from our breakfasts and two meals on Sentosa Island, we ate solely at hawker food markets. Our hands down favourite was Maxwell Market where we all enjoyed Tian Tian Chicken Rice and Kelly also loved the Laksa – a sour and spicy soup. All four of us could have a full meal and drinks for under $14 CAD total and the food was outstanding! Seriously, I could complete a rather large blog post talking about all the food alone!

In line to order

Chicken Rice!!!

Good food surrounded by chaos!

We purchased a series of passes through an agent at our hotel and planned the itinerary for the week. Aside from wandering the streets of downtown, the Botanical Gardens and ensuring we stopped by the Raffles, we were unsure of our exact plans when we first arrived. It was a whirlwind week of fun as Kelly and I made a conscious choice to feed the entertainment side of our kids. Universal Studios, Night Safari, Singapore Zoo, Singapore Flyer, Adventure Cove, and the S.E.A. Aquarium! Normally, our family avoids theme parks like the plague (some terrible childhood memory probably impacted this), but given the reasonable prices and the guarantees of no crowds, we decided to jump in and boy are we glad we did!

First of all, the S.E.A. Aquarium of all the aquariums we’ve been to in major cities, was by far and away the most superior (beating out London, Melbourne, Sydney, and Monaco). They have the world record for the largest tank and one could spend hours sitting in front of this tank alone. Also of note was how incredibly clean the glass on all the tanks were allowing for great viewing – this was not always the case in other aquariums, especially Sydney. Able to make many connections to fish we have seen both in the ocean and in aquariums, it was wonderful to see the boys come alive with joy in being able to observe all of the great fresh and saltwater fish!

Following the aquarium, we ventured to Adventure Cove, the waterpark next door. Again, with no crowds, we were able to thoroughly enjoy the many slides with little to no wait. The only ride requiring a wait was most definitely worth it! The Riptide Rocket…combination roller coaster and waterslide, this one brought out more than a few shrieks of joy and gigantic wipeouts at the end.

Our next day involved the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Kelly and I had been on the Night Safari in 2001 and really enjoyed the experience, but never went to the zoo. Again, Singapore wins as far as most well organized and set up zoos of all the ones we have visited during our travels. A highlight was the elephant show where we were able to observe how well trained these incredible animals can be as well as how strong they are. The boys were able to spend some time following, feeding the elephants. Their trunks while so strong are also delicate and graceful. Seeing the many different animal species was wonderful, but as we all talked following the day, it always leads to questions about animals in captivity. We know that education and awareness is key to ensuring that humans and economics don’t further deplete species and habitat; however, it is also difficult to reconcile the “caged” animal no matter how well looked after.

We headed over to the Night Safari which is always a full attraction – we remembered feeling overwhelmed by the number of people 13 years ago, and this was again the case leading up to entry into the park. However, once we had completed the train tour of the safari, our walking tour was comfortable and at our own pace. We loved seeing the smallest deer – a mouse deer and walking through the area with the gigantic fruit bats were highlights. These bats are flying free and the look on the boys faces once they realized that they were surrounded by the massive creatures was priceless! One thing we all found interesting was that people were obsessed with taking photographs on the night safari; however, no flashes are allowed and it is dark hence the quality of photographs are poor. This experience is not one that is meant to be recorded on any device other than your mind. Listening to the animals move around and be active in the night, is a whole other experience than leisurely wandering the zoo during the day while many are sleeping.

Singapore is an incredible city in many ways. The number of shopping malls along Orchard Street alone is entirely overwhelming and every possible high end and mid range shop in the world seems to be available here. Looking out over downtown, the high rises and architecture is incredible combined with the humming port absolutely stuffed with huge shipping vessels. Going up the Singapore Flyer (30 metres higher than the London Eye), allowed us to gain further perspective on the incredible engineering feats of man looking at all of the buildings and infrastructure surrounding us. With most people living in apartments, it was yet another learning experience for the boys in recognizing the impact large populations in small spaces has on the style of living and daily life.

Merlion Park

Merlion Park at night

Marina Bay Sands

Temple near China Town

View over the harbour

Wandering the Botanical Gardens

Catfish feeding time at the Botanical Gardens

Our final major attraction was Universal Studios. Having never been to any of the Disney theme parks and our only frame of reference, brief visits to Galaxyland in West Edmonton Mall, we were unsure of what to expect. Our number one descriptor of our day was FUN! We had an absolute blast as a family going on every ride, posing with theme characters, and enjoying the general atmosphere of the place. Our longest wait time was approximately 10 minutes and that happened only once. We didn’t have to wait at all for most rides and it was slick! The boys favourite ride was the 3D Transformers ride which may have made their mother rather ill due to the realistic effects and feelings of flying through a city being chased and hammered by the bad robots (no I’ve never watched Transformers). The special effects on this ride were outstanding! I preferred the Mummy Returns roller coaster which is in the dark and certainly packs its fair share of G-forces and unexpected turns. We were so relaxed and never had to rush (with the exception of when the Minions appeared for photo opportunities – that may have been a little bit of Asian line up craziness!). Kelly and I may have to rethink our avoidance of this type of attraction – with the right mindset and the right timing, this was a blessed day for our family together in a totally different way than we had expected.

Good times!

Our Minions

Notice their watches…

Muscular Men

Drying off in the “pod” after a ride

Considering a different destination city? Consider Singapore – safe, clean, affordable, fun, and an opportunity to introduce yourself to cultural difference with enough familiar to help you take a risk.

Cave Fam

Our final major adventure stop in NZ was at Waitomo Caves. With limestone rock formations peppered throughout cattle and sheep pasture, one could drive through and do little more than comment on the seemingly random hilly terrain. However, to those who know caves – this region is a playground boasting over 300 caves! With many companies vying for the popular tourist dollar, we did some research prior to booking. There is a large company which takes groups of over 30 into one of the larger caves, however, we chose to go with Spellbound Tours, a small company based out of the general store in Waitomo. Rather than an hour long tour, surrounded by many, we enjoyed over 3 hours in and around the caves with a group of 12. Our tour guide had a great sense of humour and we very much appreciated his interest in getting to know the people in the group and building our love for the caves we were entering. This was Science curriculum at it’s best. Stalagmites, stalactites, columns, glowworms…it was outstanding!

We entered two separate caves – the first was via a path down to a dinghy where we were enthralled by the seemingly bright lights of the glowworms. Glowworms: such a cuddly sounding term. Really, they are fungus gnats which glow during their larval stage. Catching food with delicate silk threads hanging down, it is quite the feat of nature to see millions of these throughout the cave. As we floated down the stream within the cave in complete darkness, the gentle ‘kerplop’ of water droplets combined with the glittering ceiling, it felt as though we were being transported into a totally different world.

The second cave was much different in that we were able to observe many distinct limestone formations due to various entry points of sunlight beaming down, exposing crystallized formations. We enjoyed a traditional Maori song sung by three young girls from Wellington – the acoustics in the cave were beautiful. The boys were not as eager to continue on in song, but managed to hum a few sounds. If you’re headed to Waitomo – we would highly recommend booking with Spellbound Tours!

With our time in NZ quickly coming to an end, we spent one day in Auckland and confirmed that while Auckland is a lovely spot, one does not visit NZ for the cities. We thoroughly enjoyed all parts of our visit to this great country (okay, Wellington wasn’t really a highlight). If you’re planning a trip here – it had better be more than 2 weeks and even at that, be sure that you understand you will only skim the surface of all NZ has to offer! The sites, the outdoor activity, the people…all combine to create an ultimate travel experience! Next for us: South East Asia!

Saying Goodbye