The Visit

Week 40: 21/01/2013-27/01/2013

My visiting family kindly pointed out the following things about my adopted home city, which I hadn’t actually noticed in the 10 months I’ve lived in Kuala Lumpur:

1. It’s too hot
2. The traffic is awful
3. It’s too humid
4. The service is awful
5. It’s too hot
6. The tea is awful
7. It’s too rainy
8. The driving is awful
9. It’s too hot
10. The toilets are awful
11. It’s too hot

Oh, and something else they mentioned was that it is too hot. That aside I think they quite liked it. I left them to their own devices on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday we headed up to Penang to stay in Georgetown. We had a tour of Suffolk House, a trip up the funicular railway to Penang Hill, a bit of a stroll around town and a visit to Cornwallis Fort. My birthday dinner in the Eastern Oriental Hotel, however, was incredibly disappointing. Despite the grand surroundings the food was average and the service poor.

Zoe with a cannon on Penang Hill

Thursday evening Zoe and I went out for a drink with Choi and her friends at Havanas.

Saturday we took a trip to the Royal Selangor Factory (after I'd been rescued from an addicental lie in (awoken from a nightmare about karaoke)). We had a go at making stuff out of pewter, which was great fun. Saturday evening we saw a bit of high pole Lion Dancing in the run up to Chinese New Year, which was incredible.

Birthday in Penang.

Sunday we headed to the National Monument which was quite impressive, followed by a quick tour of Central Market and Chinatown on a last minute souvenir run (thanks to Gemma for the tips on where to take mums!!).

The Westwoods in front of the Petronas Towers

A hectic, and at times stressful week, but great to see my lovely family and show them some of the places I frequent in Kuala Lumpur. 

Trippple Trouble!

Week 39: 14/01/2013-20/01/2013

So, KL village is alive and kicking!! The longer you spend somewhere I guess it is inevitable that personal politics start playing a larger part in life. The happy and harmonious social community I entered into back in May does not look quite the same these days.

It was good to start the week with Dylan watching more NFL Playoffs and eating KFC, sometimes its the simplest things which make me happy. Wednesday was a spicy trip to Internations (great venue at Twenty One Tables and Terrace). Thursday night was Elke's birthday celebrations at Lianne's pool. Lovely evening for beers by the pool..... although not everyone seemed to quite get the Roxanne drinking game!

Birthday Girl Little Elke

I managed to find time to say goodbye to Steffie, with a little help from our friend The Captain. A slightly unexpected, but fun night out. Good luck Steffie.

Another German leaves town :-( Jags, me, Steffie, Carol..... The Captain just out of shot.

The BIGGEST news of the week though was the arrival of my family in Kuala Lumpur!! My mum, dad and sister Zoe arrived on Friday morning. By the time I caught up with them in the evening, they were slightly tired from the travel and certainly worn out from the heat. We took a stroll to nearby Souled Out and encountered all of the best that KL has to offer..... blocked footways, dangerous road crossing maneuvers, tripped over a tram lying in the shadows, bumped into a dangerously placed advertising flag and, of course it was raining. Family less than impressed!

Wing Commander MP Westwood OBE re-united with Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer

On Saturday we had a stroll round KL. Sunday we ventured out to Sungei Besi to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum. Well worth a visit if you have any interest in planes as its free to get in. My dad was particularly pleased to see the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer, which he had seen in a different museum last time he was in KL in 1976!!

Sunday evening I finally took a trip up the Petronas Towers. We were hoping to see a glorious sunset, but it was a bit too overcast for that. Great views across the city though.