Holiday in Malaysia

page one of four

In summer 2008, Tracey, Joshua and I had a holiday in Malaysia as guests of my friends Eamonn and Judy. Here are the diary and photos of a tremendous two weeks.

23 May - 6 June 2006

Friday 23 May

All three of us managed to get a little sleep during the 13 hour flight but we were pretty tired by the time we arrived at the airport and worried ourselves through some anxious minutes at the baggage carousel as our three cases were almost last to appear.

We grabbed a bite to eat at the airport before catching a taxi to the centre of Kuala Lumpur and the home of Eamonn and Judy and their nearly two-year old son Sean. We gave Sean the toy we’d bought him and then after a brief freshen up the six of us went to the staff bar (called The Elizabethan Club) inside the British High Commission (where Eamonn works) for a couple of drinks to help us sleep.

Saturday 24 May

Unsurprisingly, we had a bit of a lie-in today and then, as Joshua was still asleep, Tracey and I went for a walk to the KLCC shopping complex which is underneath the Petronas Towers – the twin towers with a skybridge between them, as featured in the film Entrapment. There are fountains.

We returned to wake Joshua up and go for a swim in the pool; Eamonn’s apartment is in a tower block with a swimming pool on the ground floor.

Later in the afternoon, all six of us went first to Central Market – where Joshua bought a radio-controlled helicopter – and then into the street markets of Chinatown, where Joshua bought a fob watch of a street trader and we sampled the local food.

The evening was finished of in the Reggae Bar; Tracey had a cocktail called a Blow Job. I stuck to the local Tiger beer. And Joshua wrote on the wall.

Sunday 25 May

A visit to the nearby Toys R Us started a wet Sunday as we bought an inflatable boat and took it to the swimming pool with Judy and Sean to soak up the sunshine.

We then headed back to KLCC for something to eat and discovered the first of many Secret Recipes, a chain store that has an amazing selection of cakes on offer, and which thus became a favourite haunt of Tracey’s. I had a Vietnamese beef noodle soup and Joshua some mini-hamburgers.

This was followed by a walk round the KLCC garden and fountains, a paddle in the swimming pool and then watching Joshua exploring the children’s playground.

In the evening, Eamonn took us all to a Malaysian restaurant in the Ampang Park shopping centre. Tracey was put out that they served beer but not wine.

Monday 26 May

A hot day in the bird park was enjoyed by the three of us and we had photos taken with exotic birds perched on our heads and shoulders.

We also played with the baby chicks.

We took a taxi to the Times Square shopping centre to soak up some aircon. Tracey and Joshua ate at Secret Recipe while I went on the scary indoor rollercoaster; those two were too wimpy to go on it. Joshua pretended to drive the tram on the way back.

That evening, Tracey, Joshua and I returned to the street cafe in Chinatown where we’d eaten two nights earlier. The strap on Tracey’s rucksack broke, but the night market that contained the cafe was the right place to find a replacement, after we’d knocked them down from the RM150 starting price to a more realistic RM45 (exchange rate is roughly RM6 to the UK pound). Another couple of drinks in the Reggae bar finished the day off.

Part two

Part three

Part four

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