We decided to write one last post about Malaysia and combine some of our old activities with the rest.

It is really nice to meet people you can connect with and share memories. This is what makes travel truly special. We met up with our friends once again from our first week in KL, Elise & Holly. They were travelling around Malaysia and landed back in KL for a few days. We were happy to have them stay at our apartment since we have 2 beds and baths here. They were wonderful guests. We had some fun exploring KL together, ordering in McDonald's when pizza wasn't an option (just because they deliver one day, doesn't mean they deliver the next).

Anyone who knows me knows that deep down I'm a nerd when it comes to my entertainment. I've been a fan of Star Trek since I was a kid. I loved the over exaggerated acting of William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk (the "T" is for Tiberius"). "Star Trek The Exhibit" WHAT?! In Malaysia?! No joke. According to this, it is the largest display of Star Trek paraphernalia anywhere. We had to go! Anna, of course, would've been very excited if I decided I didn't want to go at all, but I couldn't in clear conscious not go. We arrived at the science center on the second last day of the exhibit.

After answering some skill testing questions about the show, I proved my worth as a closet Trekkie and was granted access to the exhibit. The first thing I see is Kirk's chair from the original series. After screaming like a little girl, I instantly sat in the chair and got a picture. I tried the buttons and everything and realized it's the real deal! We later started into the exhibit and they had setup Captain Picard's entire cabin set up from Star Trek TNG (The Next Generation). We weren't supposed to take pictures, luckily Anna's Ukrainian gypsy skills were on hand. They had real props from all the different series from the original all the way to the new movie coming out. Uniforms, weapons, communicators, face masks, actual scripts, which I tried to read and act out with Anna. I didn't know a persons eyes could roll so far back into their head.

The greatest part of the tour we happened upon was a totally faithful reconstruction of the entire bridge from the Star Trek TNG set. I, of course, assumed the roll of Picard, and I had Anna as my ship counselor, Deanna Troy.

We took a day tour of one of the oldest towns in all of Southeast Asia. Malacca, which is both a province and a city in Malaysia, and of course it is also a UNESCO world heritage site due to its age and historical significance. It was established in 1400 as a small fishing village. Today the fish are gone, so now tourism is its big industry. From the 1500's on it was a heavily disputed territory. First by Portugal, than the Dutch, and later the queen mum herself, England.

As we were lazy to plan this ourselves, the tour guide showed us all the interesting things in Melaka:

  • St. Peter's Church, 1710,  with tiles from Portugal, stained glass from Italy.
  • Metal Structure of Jesus trying to teach his buddy to walk across the water
  • Old Dutch Fort made out of lava rock, which was a church back in the day, that stands on top of St. Paul's Hill.
  • Statue of St. Francis, with his right hand missing (Due to the fact he died in Malacca and the Vatican requested his right hand to be sent to them to verify it was him….this has to be what CSI was like in the 1700's)
  • The King's Well which was built for his wife from China to bathe in
  • Vibrant Chinatown with streets like Harmony street, where a Buddhist Temple is next to the Muslim Mosque and a Christian Church.
  • Christ Church Melaka, 1753, which was never red to begin with, but the British decided to show off their royalty colours. (Also they painted most of the buildings red, and it is still there to be seen).


As our last 2 days in KL are approaching it is only best to reflect on the last two months.

We will miss:
  • All the crazy over the top malls, that you get lost and spend days in.
  • Our fantastic brand new condo, with an amazing pool, free wifi and a café to boot.
  • KL Monorail, where the only place where the rain can't touch you, and a girlfriend who knows all the stops
  • The constant view of the Stadium Negara, which in two months was never occupied by more than one security guard.
  • The feeling of being locals in such a distant land and being able to help others discover KL
  • The 10$ movie night out, including tickets, reclining love seats, popcorn and drinks
  • The shabby IT Mall with everyone always asking you "YES, I can help you"
  • Becoming epic jaywalkers, who deserve only gold medals encrusted in diamonds
  • Ali being the tallest man in Malaysia, feeling like everyone are his minions
  • Shopping in the Non Halal section and feeling like rebels
  • The Terima Kasih song, which will be engrained in us for the rest of our lives
  • The catchy election songs, that we know all the words to  (jom kita mengundi)
  • The realization that America is not the center of the Earth, but China is
  • Daily drug busts and prostitution rings, where are ours?
  • All the fun people we met, and how much we learned about Kazakhstan
We will NOT miss:
  • The incredibly, impressive and completely consistent daily thunderstorms.
  • The lovely prayer call at 5:30 every single morning.
  • The 3 schools, with screaming children at 7:30 in the morning.
  • The amazing glares that Anna endured
  • The fact that shoe size 48 (13 in Canada), is a made up number and doesn’t exist in the world
  • Size XL is almost a medium back home
  • The suspicious lack of dogs, all around
  • The stray cats without tails, like ever, and I mean ever
  • The scooters with their own rules and a hunger for murder

All in all Malaysia, you kept us warm and completely drenched and we will miss you.

Love Anna and Ali






 

 





Previously, on the "The Singaporeans" our heroes exploring the great country/city whine half way through they were stricken with sudden sickness brought on by a viscous combination of rain, intense air conditioning, and a lack of warm clothing. This assault resulted in our heroes having to retreat to Kuala Lumpur to lick their wounds and regroup to fight another day. We vowed we would, and that day has come! Singapore was one of our favorite destinations, and a favorite of our readers as well so we were determined to return. This time, no sickness will stop us. Here we go.

Location! Location! Location! That rule has worked in real estate and for McDonald's, and it worked for us as well. The hotel was well chosen, and well placed. We enjoyed the old Chinese Opera House which was now the Santa Grand Hotel. They did have the smallest rooms we have ever been to, but the charm and the colours was all well worth it.

We have to say this is one of the most vibrant Chinatowns we've ever experienced. It's large and the people here are very outgoing, friendly, and helpful (not to mention all the fun characters we met). During the day the weather is way too hot, so the streets are pretty bare. At night is when you want to go out in Chinatown. It really lights up and comes to life. Half the stands aren't even open until the evening. We had our last meal there of "fried baby squid" (the crunchy eyeballs were a bit to get over) and chicken and fish rolls with rice and beer.

What an adventure it was to explore the "Sim Lim Square", which is just another giant IT malls. After getting over the shock of all the stores (computer parts, phone cases, laptop/tablets, repair, games, etc.). Anna had quiet the chuckle about the mall, she said "it's like visiting eBay in person". Since we were here, we decided to fix my phone (it has been out of commission since beginning of our trip). What should of taken 1 hour, took us 3 hours, and 2 trips, after the screen was half falling off, and the missing parts. We weren't the happiest campers that night. But my phone was fixed, and here I was connected again.

We had to catch up on our lost sightseeing time from our last trip, and we did. We explored the "Art Science Museum" of Singapore located next to the Marina Bay Sands. The exhibition was named "The Art Of The Brick" by Nathan Sawaya which is a New York based lawyer who always had a fascination with Lego. He has created some if the most astounding works of Lego Art I've seen. Some of his works look eerily like you're looking at a real life representation of an old video game, especially the ones of people and faces.

Another fun activity we did was attend a circus in town called "Le Noir". They were a European style circus similar to Cirque Du Soleil, but on a much smaller scale and a bit risque and on a very small circular stage! Bring on the sexy half naked men and women!! It was one of the best live performances we've ever been to. They had the funniest clown, sexy assistants, contortionist, trapeze, strongmen, all of it. Definitely a highlight. 

One of the reasons for our return was for me to collect on my birthday gift, which is to drive a Lamborghini and Singapore! Thanks honey! The company is called Ultimate Drive (www.ultimatedrive.com). You can either drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari around town. I got lemon yellow Lamborghini Gaillardo convertible to drive. I had to drive with one of their people in the car, and being its a two seater, Anna couldn't come (sad face here).  We drove around town along what was the Formula 1 circuit when the Grand Prix was here. It's a fun tour with bridges and tunnels to navigate. When driver gave the signal, it was time to floor the gas pedal. That was fun!! Is like being pulled in a slingshot it's so powerful! With the roar of the engine right behind your ears and the wind in your face (since I don't have hair) it was something else. After I got used to it (right hand drive and being a Lamborghini) I started driving like a normally do, which means by the end the passenger usually has to convince me to slow down a little bit (he he he). I got my fill now. The bucket list is now one item shorter.

The last thing that happened isn't one of our finest moments. We had Singapore right where we wanted it and were about to declare victory. We mentioned earlier that I had my phone repaired here and the ordeal it was to fix it, but we the real fun was to come. I was finally happy to have a phone for the first time in about 3 months that worked. I updated it, took photos, installed apps, and was ready to start using it more than the iPad. Than, something happened. We were coming home from Le Noir the night before we left. We took a taxi home and the phone slipped out of my pocket on the backseat. AARRRGGGHHH!!!!!  I just got the darn thing! We tried to contact the taxi company, but they were no help. It turns out that I forgot to setup a password on my phone (duh!). At first Rogers told me they could disable my phone and it would be secure. Than the next day they confirmed all they could restrict was the SIM card so my information was accessible. CRAP! I had a sinking feeling in my stomach for about three days. As I was about to write it off, I get an email from someone asking if I lost my phone. At first I was scared. I responded and tried to find out all I could about the person who emailed me. After a few back and forth emails, it turned out that he was the son of the taxi driver who drove us and was intent on returning the phone to its rightful owners. By wash relieved! The phone is currently in the mail enroute to us in Malaysia as we speak and I am eager to get it back. It just goes to show you can't always assume the worst. If my phone was locked, there was no way this person would've found me. I offered to reimburse the costs of shipping, but they refused referring to the kindness of people and the fact that we are all struggling to do our best in this world and as people we should help one another out. This goes to show the quality of people we met in Singapore.

The various personalities of Singapore communicated to us on this trip much more vocally than our last time around. Singapore is a complicated lady. It takes a while to get her to open up, but when she does, she shows you such variety, generosity, and honest affection with a show of grace that is unique only to Singapore. We would eagerly return.

  
 
 
 
 
 

Now that we have become secret locals in KL, we decided to check out some touristy attractions.

The first stop was the KL Bird Park. We actually were thinking going to the Butterfly Park first, but the cab driver disagreed with our choice, and just dropped us off at the bird park anyways. Have you ever had that? That sales person who fights with you on what you want? This was taking it one step further. The bird park was a real treat. This is the largest outdoor aviary probably in world from what we understand. Imagine a large forest with a huge net on top of it and pathways through it and you get the idea. We got in and noticed the sheer amount of aviary diversity (variety of birds) was a little overwhelming. The variety of sizes, shapes, and colors was just wow! There were peacocks, pelicans, parrots, and many others. They were everywhere and seemed very comfortable around people, which made them easy to photograph as a result. We noticed the peacocks were among the most numerous bird species in there. I think they bully the other birds around. They can't fly, but they can jump really high into the trees.

The pelicans do fly and they fly low and often. One of them got into a starting contest with me and started walking towards me. At 4' tall, I was of course very careful, especially with their long beaks and grandpa looking eyes. Luckily he walked past me towards something else. He knew I would totally take him, plus I got Anna in my corner if we need to throw down.

The parrots were very friendly for they sat and let us pet them and everything. They liked this one guy who was sweating. They flew in droves to land on him and well, lick him. Picture all these beautiful colors flying all around you, than sticking their tongues out to lick a guys neck. He was British and cried to his wife to do something. In response she laughed heartily and took photos much to his displeasure.

After the bird park we walked down the street, past the monkey crossing, to the National Islamic Mosque of Malaysia. This is by far the largest mosque I've ever seen. They could easily fit 10 thousand people in there without breaking a sweat. The outside had at least 50 fountains all around the grounds with beautiful ornate designs and architecture all around. The inside has very large spaces for holding prayer which was all covered in what looked like white marble. The washrooms and place where people prepare to pray is absolutely massive, and very well designed for ease of entry and egress. Unfortunately Anna never go to see it, by the time we got there all the "non-muslim tourists" were no longer allowed inside. 

From the mosque we visited the National Islamic Art Museum. This is a very large museum. At first, it looked like a modern house from the outside, so we didn't think much of it, but once we reached it, we realized it's bloody huge. My favorite part of the museum was the gallery of scale model mosques from around the world, who knew there were more than 3 huge mosques in Uzbekistan? A number of mosques didn't look traditional at all. In particular China and Thailand have the more unique mosques that look nothing like traditional mosques more like buddhist temples. They have on display art, clothing, weaponry, old books over 1000 years old, reconstructed living quarters, and much more. This is a massive and beautiful place. Anna did manage to sneak in some cool pictures with her stealth training techniques. We stayed right up until closing time.

At that time we heard loud banging in the sky and realized it was the mother of all thunder storms outside. We all thought (the other tourists and ourselves) that they would allow us to stay inside until the rain went away. Oh were we ever wrong! Security came at exactly 6pm and kicked us all out! We were under a canopy watching the thunder and sheets of rain falling all around us. I swore I saw a fish swimming past us, but I could be wrong. What we did NOT see were all the cab drivers that normally like to pester us. We had 5 to choose from when we left that morning. Now, they were all but gone. We waited until finally one showed up. We flagged them down and begged for a ride. The sign says haggling isn't permitted and the meter has to be used. Well he looked at us and said, "You want ride? $30!" WHAT?! To drive 5 bloody minutes?! I had to be restrained at that point as Anna politely told him no. All 6 groups of us said no. It was almost like being at a soccer match. We were like the UN of taxi protesters. We had Arabs, Chinese, Russians, & Dutch tourists all telling the cabbie where to stick it. We sent that clown packing! It felt good being part of a united front where so many different could unite on a worthy cause. If only it were that simple on other world issues.

After some time, and realization that the dark was coming, we were no where close to public transit, we decided to walk in the rain. Thank god for Anna's directions after an hour of walking we reached a familiar Central Market and finally ate (we were starving and soaked). We thought, hey were are at the most popular place, taxis will be everywhere, and they were. But they wanted to charge more than before for a much shorter distance. Those meters must be broken all the time, hey cabbies? We ended up walking back to our place, soaking wet. That was a very long and adventurous day for us. Taking a stand one day at a time towards the haggling taxis!






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