Our 90 days were up again , and off we flew, to Malaysia this time and a reunion with the leader of our family , Justin , flying back from the USA ! First stop was Kuala Lumpur on peninsular Malaysia , and then next was east to Sabah on the island of Borneo. The northern part of the island mainly belongs to Malaysia , and the rest to Indonesia and Brunei.
Our flight left from the small regional airport in Hua Hin. Only two flights come in and out each day , one to KL and the other to Don Muang airport , Bangkok. It was a 2 hour flight and very pleasant on Air Asia, a budget airline.
Arriving at KL we found Justin and had a great group hug , hailed a taxi , and off to our rented condo. The weather was humid and at approximately 4pm every day it rains. I’ve never seen such a green city , it seemed like there were trees and vines everywhere. Our taxi driver said that if you drop a seed in Malaysia , something will grow. I believe it. The city is full of skyscrapers and high end malls, we were immediately impressed at the cleanliness of the streets. We chose to stay in the Bukit Bintang area.
There are Buddhists, Christian and Muslim folks all living in this city amongst others , with the Muslims being the most visually obvious due to their dress code. This was the first time of the children being exposed to ladies covering their figures and heads. We had an in-depth discussion about why they do and the usual warnings about not talking about others within earshot but keeping questions they had until later. They did well.
The ladies of the Muslim faith dressed covering themselves from head to toe , some in the most gorgeous traditional Malaysian style of bold prints and long skirts with chiffon scarves and high heels , others in just black. The female police and immigration officers wore their uniform hats atop their scarves and this probably surprised me the most. I assumed that if their head was covered with a hat there would be no need for a scarf. I was wrong.
We discovered that there are prayer rooms in most public places and often near the restrooms. We had to be very careful not to enter these instead of the restrooms.
Malaysia is a land full of different cultures , including Indian , Chinese and Malay and the food reflects this. Malaysian curries are more like Indian flavors than the Thai curries full of coconut we have become used to. Seafood is abundant and we encountered a very varied menu at most restaurants including deer meat and frog dishes. We tried the deer in ginger and green onions in the bustling and vibrant Chinatown.
During our 3 days in Kuala Lumpur we visited the Eco Forest in the middle of the city. It has a wooden canopy walk with many monkeys and birds within the park, it is approximately a 2km walk up and down spiral towers , across the treetops and on gentle paths. The monkeys jumped through the trees and were a little too inquisitive for my liking !
We walked over to the KL tower and noted it is similar to the towers in Seattle and Toronto. We walked to its base but chose not to ride to the top.
Next for us was the Petronas Twin Towers and a tour. This entailed a small elevator ride to the 41st floor ( my looking at my feet and trying not to let my claustrophobia overwhelm me) to the bridge that connects the two towers. They are the tallest twin towers in the world and owned by a Malaysian oil and gas company , Petronas. There are no residences , only offices and a large mall. 11,500 employees work here. The tour was $20 for adults and $8.25 for kids.
Moving on up to the observation deck on the 86th floor , in an even smaller elevator , our ears popped and our eyes bugged ! What a view. It was incredible. Happily our guide answered our many questions and we were allowed to wander for 15 minutes or so. Another lady from Alaska (of all places) was so kind as to take our family photographs for us.
(I cut my hair short during this trip as the virus I have acquired was attacking the hair making it very thin.)
A rain storm came out of nowhere after we left and we ran and sheltered in a gazebo by the park , it was torrential but only lasted about 15 minutes.
Next we returned to the airport and another 3 hour flight to Kota Kinabalu in Eastern Malaysia. We had arranged a rental car and when we were checking in at the kiosk the girl delighted in telling us they had upgraded our vehicle ..to a Proton Saga. I have to wonder what we originally had been booked for as this was a tatty compact car with so many dings and scratches they just said ‘just bring it back with fuel’. Even a cockroach ran out of the car as we opened the door !
We stayed two nights north of Kota Kinabalu at a beach villa. We made full use of the facilities and the kids snorkelled but it was silty water and murky.
We preferred the 5 star resort next door and partook of high tea and their beach bar pretending to be guests ( yes, we paid ). The kids were chased off by two monkeys whilst on the play equipment !
The last 2 nights were in the city of Kota Kinabalu and how pleasant that was. We Airbnb’d a condo above the Imago mall ( highly recommend this area ).
We drove down to the pier called Jessleton Point and organised a snorkel trip to the nearby islands. My father has memories of being in Kota Kinabalu as a young teenage soldier and was sorry to miss this trip with us to see how much it has changed. We secured a boat , life jackets , snorkel gear and a mat. The islands were Sapi and Manakan and less than 20 minutes on a fast boat carrying about 30 souls.
The islands were well organized and a constant revolving cycle of boats and passengers. There were little cafes selling hot food and icy drinks at reasonable prices. We had 2 hours at each one and thoroughly enjoyed the clear water and fish watching. We also encountered a large monitor lizard walking amongst the tourists eating lunch.
Our other day was a 3 hour drive up to Poring Hot Springs. A natural hot source in the mountains near Mt. Kinabalu, up a very windy road. Justin was magnificent ( he watches enough Top Gear so I’m sure that helped). Once there we were disappointed to discover they had tanked the hot spring and we had to sit in a deep bathtub and fill with a very slow running tap. 45 minutes in and only 4 inches was disheartening to say the least. We would not recommend this attraction unless you have lots of spare days to fill.
We had roast boar on the route with fresh squeezed lime as recommended and it was delicious ( according to the meat eaters in the family).
The 3 hour ride home was very long and we slept well that night after a visit to the local Gaya Street Chinese New Year celebrations.
Our return flight to Hua Hin was an early morning rise at 3:30 am to catch the 5:20 flight as again only one flight per day. We arrived safely back in Hua Hin and immigration stamped us back into Thailand for our last time.
We have about Six weeks in Siam left and we plan on making the most of every minute !
~Arlene
Seven Months in Siam 