Happy 4th of July

...one day late.

Although we didn't really see any fireworks, we had a fun Independence Day. We started off the day with a round of tennis. Mark, Jon, Taylor and I went down to the courts and whacked the balls around rather unskillfully. Taylor was adorable with her mini tennis racket and little pink skirt. She just held on to the racket and a ball and wandered all over the courts. I'm looking forward to going a couple more times before the week is over.

In the afternoon, Ann and I played a bit of Mahjong with the tiles I brought back from KL. We played both the traditional game setup and the single-player-computer version. I finally found someone interested in playing it with me! Thank goodness I didn't lug it all the way from Malaysia for nothing. I misjudged everyone else's interest factor.

We finished off the day with some putt-putt and a dip in the pool. Ah, so relaxing. I'm liking my tan after all our park outings and a day at the beach. Mark says I actually look a bit Filipino now. It's been years since I was this dark, because I had avoided the sun for fear of a lupus outbreak. Taylor is just the teensiest bit browner, but poor Mark is burned. Thankfully, he has a few more days to heal before our flight back home.

Chris and Emily headed back to Evansville this morning, and Mike arrives in a few hours. We still have more Disney and shopping and Universal Studios ahead! I'm having problems getting photos off of my camera...I'll have to use Mark's computer I think, but here are a couple of photos from our week so far:

Snapshots from last week

Feeding green beans to monkeys

One of our very local dinners

Private helicopter over KL

Home and on the right schedule

Taylor and I made it home okay last night, though our bags decided to take the later flight from Chicago to St. Louis. The airport people should be delivering them later this morning.

The flights went really, really well. Taylor slept the entire flight between Singapore and Hong Kong, and then Chicago to St. Louis. She also slept about 9 of the 14hrs between Hong Kong and Chicago! Praise God! It was more than I could have possibly asked for.

And when we came in the door, the house was so clean and tidy. Mark is such a wonderful husband. He also took care of feeding and corralling Taylor in the evening. We went to bed at 9pm. I could barely keep my eyes open.

Taylor was up bright and early at 5:45am, just as Mark was leaving for work. She was dying to go outside, so I took her and Phoebe for a short walk around the neighborhood. Boy is it nice and cool at 6am! It was a very pleasant walk. I'm really praying we stay on the right schedule now. It all seems so easy compared to the aftermath from our Philippines trip.

Today the plan is to pack my stuff for FL, pick up my laptop from Best Buy (they fixed my broken CTRL key), and check out the sale at Sur La Table (one of our favorite stores of all time). All my photos from the trip are in my suitcases, so I won't be able to post anything new until those arrive.

Singapore Zoo

We're just back in the hotel room after going to the Singapore Zoo. It was absolutely amazing! So much cooler than any other zoo I've ever seen. The surroundings are beautiful and you can get so close to the animals. There are very few cages.

Of course, we forgot the camera, so we had to buy a disposible one at the gift shop. And then we were trying to conserve our shots, so we ended up only taking 13 pictures. Oh dear.

We're going to have dinner with a friend of mine from Northwestern, and then we'll head back into the zoo for the Night Safari. I'm so excited. It's supposed one of the best attractions in Singapore.

I have to be at the airport at 4am tomorrow for my flight back to Chicago. I didn't realize, but Cathe says the plane stops over in Hong Kong for 3hrs on it's way. It's the same flight number though. Wow, it's crazy to think I'll be home in less than 48 hrs. I'm praying for another safe and incident-free trip. I'll write more when I'm home!

Petronas Towers and a Pedicure

Yesterday, Cathe, Taylor and I got up really early to drive out to the Petronas Towers. We were told that even though the Sky Bridge doesn't open until 8:30am, you must be in line right away to get tickets for the day. We arrived at 7:50am (after a couple of missed turns along the way, thanks to a dodgy GPS) and found about 100 people in line in front of us! Fortunately, we got tickets for 9:30am - the third showing - which gave us just enough time to explore the historical gallery for the Towers beforehand. The view was nice, but I didn't quite get a thrill when I tried to imagine myself racing through the bridge as Catherine Zeta-Jones. Screenwriters have good imaginations.

We returned to Cathe's place just in time for lunch, so she treated me to one of her favorite Indian restaurants. I had a "set lunch" of veggie samosas, butter chicken, and saag paneer. Then we did some more souvenir shopping, picked up Leisan from preschool, and went to get our toe nails painted. I chose to get nail art done on my big toes. What a fun experience! I never realized how soft my feet would feel afterward. No more rough heels from wearing sandals all the time. Plus my toes will be super cute for Florida.

Today, we took the babies for a trial gymnastics class. They had a great time! For the first 30min they had free time to play on any of the mats and toys and equipment. Then for the second 30min we were supposed to be in a big circle for group activities. Taylor loved the bouncy walking area and the slide; and she did really well walking on the balance beam. She lacked concentration to do the organzied group activities, probably because she was the youngest baby there, and perferred to play elsewhere in the room. But I still think she'll make a great gymnast. Nelya enjoyed one of the little car-type toys the most and tried her hand at the trampoline and hanging from one of the double bars.

We had our final swim lesson in the afternoon, which was cut short because the water was so cold and Nelya was really tired. However, I couldn't get Taylor out of the pool. She is getting very good at blowing bubbles and even started kicking today when I was swishing her around. This after only three lessons! I need to find a class like this in St. Louis. Ivy, the instructor, told me Taylor does really well for her age and recommended that we keep her swimming.

I got to see the "night market" this afternoon, which takes place in the plaza next to Cathe's condo. They have all sorts of food and knick-knacks for sale. Cathe had me try some sort of crunchy wrap that was very tasty. We also stocked up on a few fruits I've never seen before for me to try. Tonight I ate mangosteen (sweet, yet strange texture) and some other little jelly-like fruit that we don't know the name of.

I also **drum roll, please** ate DURIAN! It wasn't as awful as I thought. I had four hefty spoonfuls, in fact. It smells horrendous, yet when you put it in your mouth you get this odd combination of sweetness and a bitterness like rotting onions. The aftertaste was strangely sweet. Cathe and Adel warn me that I'll be burping and sweating durian all tomorrow. The whole first floor of the condo certainly smells of it long after it was wrapped up and put away. We're kindly gifting the rest of the package to Angela and one of her other maid friends. They very much enjoy eating it.

Since we didn't get the chance to do FRIM the other day (we thought it might rain), we'll be going there tomorrow to do the canopy walk. Adel insisted Cathe also take me to a Batik factory afterwards, so I get the most Malaysian experience possible. In the evening we'll go see mangroves and some special indigineous fireflies. Gotta squeeze as much as I can in these last few days!

First week and a half in Malaysia

We have had a jam packed first week and a half in KL! The photos are taking too long to upload to the blog, so I'll have to add them later. You can always see them online here.

On Tuesday, after an authentic Indian breakfast at Devi's Corner, Cathe took us to the Batu Caves - not too far from the city. It was amazing to see the gigantic golden statue of Murugan, a Hindu deity, and all the little temples and other idols there. How can humans make a statue like that so large and intricate? I climbed the 272 steps to the upper caves while Cathe stayed below with Nelya and Taylor. Inside were colorful statues, and more steps to another area of the cave. I was so exhausted and shaky from the climb up that I took it very slowly going down. Cathe also warned me to stay clear of the monkeys on the stairs, as they heckle tourists for food. I certainly didn't want a monkey bite, so I heeded her advice!


Later that afternoon, Taylor joined Nelya for her baby swim class. I think it was much better than the class we took at the Y. There were lots of toys and games and songs to capture the babies' attention and help them learn. We had another class today and Taylor has already improved! She can now blow bubbles in the water, do the "monkey walk" along the edge of the pool, and kick a little when I swish her around.



On Wednesday, Cathe and I spend the entire day at the mall getting our hair done. Cathe had her hair rebonded, which is an extreme form of straightening it (perfect for the intense humidity of KL), and I had some relaxing and highlighting done. The highlighting is great, but I wasn't completely pleased with the cut. The "master stylist" seemed so inspired while doing my hair that I hated to express my reservations. I figured I could work with the new look and find ways to make it my own. I'm still getting used to it, though today I found a really pretty hairclip at the Central Market that I bought to style it nicely.

Thursday we left very early in the morning for the KL airport. We had a 1hr flight to Kota Bharu on Air Asia, the budget airlines of the East. Cathe ordered Roti Canai for us on the plane, which was a surprisingly filling breakfast. We were met at the airport by a driver affliated with the resort we were going to and spent another hour getting to the town where we were to catch our boat to the resort.

The resort was great! The sand was soft on the beaches and the air was refreshing. Cathe had me order a variety of local and regional dishes (Thai, Singaporean, Malay), which gave me a good taste of the area. My favorite meals were Thai style fish and the Tom Yam.

Taylor LOVED walking in the shallow ocean water and Cathe and I had several fun snorkeling outings while Angela (the kid's nanny) watched the little ones. The rashguards I brought with me work fabulously - I used them everyday. We were there until Sat afternoon, pretty much just swimming and eating everyday.

Sun and Mon we took it easy because we were tired from traveling. Today we went to the Central Market so I could shop for some local souvenirs. I was overwhelmed by the selection and have been milling over some additional purchases I'd like to make. It's easy enough to head back to the Market, so I think Cathe and I will go there again in the next couple of days.

Tonight, Cathe and I stole away to chat and have drinks at a nearby restaurant. The moderate temperature and light breeze of the evenings is so calming. It was a perfect end to an evening.

Tomorrow the plan is to visit the Sky Bridge at Petronas Towers early in the morning, then head to the Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) to explore their rainforest canopy walk (100 ft above ground level!). The babies will stay home with Angela and Leisan will be back at school.

Thursday is the babies' first gymnastic class and Friday we may drive out to ride on some elephants. I'll post more as it happens!

Kuala Lumpur

We made it to Malaysia safely and have been having a great time with Cathe and the girls. The flights all went amazingly well and Taylor has been a big attraction everywhere we've been. She is very charming.

Today, while Cathe was in a meeting for work, Taylor and I explored the grounds around the famous Petronas Towers (as seen in the movie Entrapment) and the gigantic mall inside of it (5 floors!). Taylor slept the entire time. I enjoyed the window shopping and shady walkways outdoors. We keep forgetting to take the camera around with us, so sadly no photos to post yet.

Then we got Balinese food for lunch (yum!) before Leisan's gymnastics class. The gymnastics center also offers classes for 1-3 yr olds, so Cathe and I will take the babies there next Thurs for a free "trial class."

This Thursday we are headed to the Perhentian Islands for a beach getaway. I'm very excited! The weather here is so hot and humid all the time that some sand and water will be nice.