When we first visited a Malaysian Beach and saw everyone wearing swim suits with long sleeve, pants, and head coverings, I have to admit, I thought, “Man, I don’t think I could do that! That’s gotta be so hot and uncomfortable.” I then proceeded to cover every inch of my bare skin in sun screen.
The thing about sunscreen here in Malaysia…How do I put this? It doesn’t seem to work. I use 120 SPF and I’m still burning an hour later.
On another recent beach trip, while I was waist deep in ocean water, I recall remarking, “Did anybody else feel a sting?” To which my friend replied with, “Yeah, I felt a couple too.” Determining that we were probably in some sort of jelly fish entanglement, we retreated closer to shore.
So between the unpleasant sun burns and the unnerving jelly fish stings, it only took three beach trips to realize that, “Huh. You know, these Malaysians are onto something.”
So anyway, here's my new swim suit (I got one for all the kids, too).
Oh, Malaysia, your swim suits have excellent coverage and your vacuums bring a smile to my face (see previous post). But can we also talk about how your flimsy brooms drive me crazy when I’m trying to sweep up anything heavier than flour? And how your bathrooms scare and confuse me?
- -The Kuala Lumpur bird park, which is the largest free-range aviary in the world apparently.
o Pelicans block the paths, Ibis fly past your head, big-beaked egrets threaten to snap at you, and peacocks try to sneak a bite when you stop for ice cream. You can feed ostriches without any supervision and take pictures with parrots. It’s one of our new favorite places.
- -The Pudu wet market.
o There were all sorts of live and dead fish, raw meat, ?prairie dogs? for sale as pets, chickens ready to butcher, birds, moon cakes, and all kinds of never-before-smelled aromas (sometimes not in a good way).
- -The KL Zoo
o This was an interesting place. Compared to America, not much between you and the animals. As we walked past the seal exhibit, zoo employees shouted for us to “get back,” while we watched them chase down and surround a vulture that had apparently escaped from its cage.
o As we were leaving the zoo, we passed an (un-fenced) pond that was active with movement. What was inside there? Upon further inspection, we discovered MANY large monitor lizards swimming fast and getting closer to us than what I’d call comfortable. When I first peaked into the water, one snapped and splashed at me. Woah!
o Right after the monitor lizard sightings, we passed a gang of monkeys – outside a cage, mind you. Nothing extraordinary about that here in Malaysia, but these guys seemed a little too un-inhibited for our liking. We kept our distance, but as we walked down the path, I looked up in a tree and instantly met a male monkey’s eyes. He growled at me with big yellow teeth and looked like he was about to leap over to gnaw on my face! Needless to say, I backed far away and we all got as much space in between us as possible.
o The lions and tigers kept roaring at each other. It was so crazy to hear that echoing through the zoo. A SCARY sound. “How come I’ve never heard that at a US zoo?” I kept on thinking.
o
We probably won’t go back to the zoo any time
soon, but it made for some interesting observations.
- The KL Butterfly park
o This place was like heaven on earth. Beautiful flowers and the most dazzling, brightly-colored butterflies gliding all over.
- Several jungle hikes
o A friend and I decided to check out a local hike early one Saturday morning. After several GPS fails, wrong turns (this happens to me A LOT here), and asking for directions, we found the trail head! It led to this dark, narrow trail through the dark, creepy jungle. I wasn’t so sure about it, but eventually, it opened up more and led us on a beautiful hike through the coolest twisty vines and a beautiful overlook of the city. We stopped for a moment to let mountain bikers pass, and as we sat there waiting, we could hear rustling all around us. We looked around and saw NOTHING. Still, the rustling continued, in all directions. It’s hard to explain the feeling of being surrounded by something, hearing it coming closer on all sides, and yet, it being completely invisible. Finally, the image of mischievous little monkeys emerged from the treetops. There’s something SO cool about being surrounded by monkeys (except when they’re like that freaky one at the zoo – luckily these ones gave us space and did their own thing).
-- -Batu Caves
o This is a holy place for Hindus. There are stairs leading up into a huge cave where temples and holy areas are built. Visitors are asked to climb the stairs without their shoes because it’s a sacred place. (Nice) monkeys lined the staircase and the view at the top was very pretty. While our feet got pretty dirty, it was a neat and interesting experience for the whole family. I’ve really enjoyed learning about Hinduism while living here!
- -KL Tower and mini zoo
o The KL tower is the highest place you can go to view the city, so that was neat! At the bottom, there’s also a mini zoo that was very interactive. We got to pet a wallaby, giant tortoise, several bunnies, and a ferret. The creepiest part of the trip was walking down the trail and seeing a giant gold orb weaver spider (look it up – ah!) that wasn’t a part of the zoo, but just another attraction hanging out in its web above our heads.
- - A mountain waterfall/local swimming hot spot
o About 50 minutes away, up the mountains is this waterfall attraction which is pretty popular among the locals. The parking lot is filled with chickens, cats, and wild dogs. You pay 1 RM (about 25 cents) to enter. Below the waterfall are several pools you can swim in. Silvery-pink lizards dart around and big, warty frogs sit motionless on the rocks. Around the waterfall is a steep staircase leading to the top. We took these stairs and found another series of waterfalls and pools, including a natural waterslide. While it looked bumpy, the waterslide was slick and covered with moss making the ride down fast, painless, and very exciting. Every one of the kids tried it, even our 3 year old (on Mom’s lap and with floaties :D). Man, this place was awesome! The only downside was the piles and piles of garbage packed above the banks and behind the dilapidated canopies. Plus there were no bathrooms up there. But hey, that’s just par for the course. The beaches were the same – so much garbage - but beautiful otherwise!
That reminds me, in Malaysia, you may pass a dead rat on your way to school in the morning.
After three months, I feel comfortable driving here. Every time I drive somewhere new or far away, I just tell myself, “get ready for an adventure,” because the google and i-phone maps are slow and many times incorrect, so VERY often, destinations are tricky to locate. Plus, there’s always the parking challenge. For example, a couple weeks ago, I drove to a dentist appointment across town. I followed the signs for parking around the back of a building and down a narrow opening to an underground parking garage. This driveway down was extremely narrow and signs kept saying “Guest parking on B5”. Well, TEN! levels later (Each number had two levels), I FINALLY reached guest parking, and there was one itsy bitsy little spot left that I had to squeeze into using a 20-point turn….Adventure!
What else?
There are some awesome people here who have become great friends. The kids are so happy and are all in school full-time now (except the youngest). Our youngest enjoys swimming, playdates, riding her scooter, and playing with the hamsters we bought when we moved here. She also just potty trained, so that sure makes life easier!
More and more has been opening up, so we are hopeful about family and friends being able to travel here soon. The quarantine is down to 1 week from 2 – a good sign! We have online church right now, but it should start in-person in less than a month, so that’s exciting as well! (Although kids aren't allowed because they aren’t vaccinated…hmph).
This last week, the remainder of our stuff arrived, including our beloved tigerwood piano, so our house feels more like home. I just want to get one more indoor plant, and hang a few more pictures, and I’ll feel like it’ll be officially and sufficiently “decorated.” When it is, I’ll probably post a picture or two.
Anyway, we are happy - It’s monsoon season with "cool" 88-degree temperatures right now, we are excited for the holidays coming up, we all recently got our rabies shots – we can’t complain. Life is good!On a final note: speaking of monsoons, a couple of pictures of the kids swimming in the rain, and building a fort out of palm trees in the rain:
