tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58785292649783916412012-02-17T02:59:54.972ZSightseeing, crafting, making new friends and keeping old ones.... all part of our three years (1096 days) in hot and often sunny Kuala Lumpur.Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-70641736669930397602012-02-05T10:56:00.000Z2012-02-05T10:56:36.015Z

A couple of weeks ago, Alex attended a big team building event in Putrajaya, a relatively new, planned city about 25km south of Kuala Lumpur.  He reported back that, although the place seemd to be deserted, it was worth a visit if only to look at the amazing architecture. So a few days later, cameras in hand, Alex, Caitie and myself took a trip out there.  It was a holiday weekend (Chinese New

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-56631909377807502602012-01-24T07:48:00.000Z2012-01-24T07:48:50.712Z

Happy Chinese New Year!  Technically I'm a day late, I believe, but it is still Chinese New Year holidays here, so I'm sure it still counts. KL has been, on the whole, very quiet the past four days.  Most people have gone home to be with their families for this festive season, or they have taken advantage of the extra days off work to go on holiday.  Which, for those of us still here, is great,

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-48747121385357706002012-01-16T07:40:00.000Z2012-01-16T07:40:53.740Z

I promised a few posts ago that I would tell you more about our trip to Phuket.  We had visited this island to the South West of Thailand about 20 years ago when we lived in Hong Kong,  It was so nice, we went twice, and loved every minute of it.  So it was on our list of "must-dos" for Malaysia.  I knew the resort where we had previously stayed still existed, and it still looked virtually the

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-29516051842850427402012-01-07T04:57:00.000Z2012-01-07T04:57:40.741Z

We've always loved The Wizard of Oz in our family, so I thought it was high time I documented this family favourite in my scrapbooks. A fiarly simple layout - didn't need much doing given the paper I used (from PaperArts in Stroud).  I created the photo montage using images from the internet, and a Jessica Sprague photoshop template. Thanks for looking.

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-51797815642116346182012-01-01T04:44:00.000Z2012-01-01T04:44:57.482Z

The view from our balcony at midnight last night, taken with my new camera :) Happy New Year - may it bring you everything you wish for.

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-67346095863079973472011-12-30T07:16:00.000Z2011-12-30T07:16:19.289Z

While in Phuket before Christmas, we decided to visit Phuket Fantasea, somewhat ambitiously hailed in their marketing as the ultimate cultural theme park.  The focus of it was a 1 1/4 hour show - absolutely fantastic in its theatrics, with acrobats, pyrotechnics and elephants!  I must admit I spent half of it wondering what on earth the storyline was supposed to be, but the sight of 16 elephants

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-23260103783108221672011-12-27T01:30:00.000Z2011-12-27T01:30:44.023Z

Oh dear - over a month and a half since I last blogged - that wasn't the plan!  I guess life got in the way!  Quite how I have managed to be so busy I'm not quite sure - it's not as if I'm working any more.  But what with going out and about (I know, it's a hard life!), preparing for Christmas, doing domestic goddess-type things and keeping in touch with everyone (more time-consuming than you

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-78938315767808414602011-11-06T10:59:00.000Z2011-11-06T10:59:29.180Z

Last weekend's birds' nest soup experience definitely needed to be captured for posterity - and of course I had to do something with the photographic evidence that we really had eaten bird spit! So here's the double page layout I have done, with a tongue in cheek Chinese-style title.  The design is based on a Becky Fleck sketch, and the papers used are Kaisercraft Secret Bird Society (very apt,

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-58286671608293661442011-11-03T08:44:00.001Z2011-11-03T08:47:30.489Z

I dug an enormous hole for myself on the way to Melaka on Saturday when I said to the kids:  "Your challenge for this weekend is to eat something that you've not tried before".  Little did I know that, just a couple of doors down from the hotel where we spent the night, was a newly opened building, dedicated to the history, making and selling of birds' nests.  Not just any old nests, but the

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-68296053968246407602011-10-16T09:15:00.000+01:002011-10-16T09:15:38.079+01:00

It's fair to say that under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have looked twice at this cafe, much less have gone in.  You can see why - from the outside it looks like it wouldn't be out of place in an old black and white Western - well, with the possible exception of the very Arabic-style script above the door! As for inside - well, let's just say that it hasn't seen even a single lick of paint

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-55941543984509007592011-09-28T08:17:00.000+01:002011-09-28T08:17:55.808+01:00

Our latest Malaysian adventure was a trip to Cameron Highlands, an area high on some mountains in the middle of the country, famous for its tea, strawberries and other farm produce.  It is a popular destination because, being high up, the air is cooler and - allegedly - fresher.  I say allegedly because if you go on a public holiday weekend, like we did, you end up being caught in long traffic

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-34048086433937272452011-09-12T02:25:00.000+01:002011-09-12T02:25:12.818+01:00

Just a quick post today to share a layout I did a couple of weeks ago.  The photo is of Will at Pangkor Laut last month.  It isn't easy to get a photo of him with a natural smile, he's usually too busy posing!  Love this one though :)  Stash info for my scrappy friends - the papers are from the My Mind's Eye Stomp! pad, stars are stamped with some ancient Autumn Leaves stamps, and I used a Becky

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-48734445288811794502011-09-05T10:26:00.000+01:002011-09-05T10:26:15.443+01:00

...sums up Batu Caves in Kuala Lumpur in just a few words, but really doesn't do the famous site much justice.  Especially when you consider that it is one of the biggest Hindu shrines outside India, and attracts over a million people during the Hindu Thaipusam festival. Yes, there are lots of steps - hard work in this heat, but it is quite humbling to watch older people determined to visit the

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-16385648151249836932011-09-01T09:14:00.000+01:002011-09-01T09:14:51.171+01:00

This week, we finally got around to visiting Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre. It's been on our to-do list ever since we got here, but what with wanting to avoid the crowds there at weekends, and Alex being at work weekdays, it just hadn't happened. So Alex booked a day off work, and off we went! We had a great time. We hand-fed some baby and injured elephants, kept in

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-36674872290711729832011-08-21T10:03:00.000+01:002011-08-21T10:03:21.851+01:00

A mini album showing the photos from the trip that Alex, Caitie and I took to the Bird Park in KL a few weeks ago.  Lesson learnt here - don't choose something really complicated or time-consuming for a mini album, you may well regret it!  All the stamping, together with cutting and inking every single leaf, took somewhat longer than anticipated!  Thanks for looking :-)  

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-51633770183787497672011-08-16T10:27:00.001+01:002011-08-16T10:29:25.089+01:00

Last week was spent on Pangkor Laut, a gorgeous, private island just off the western coast of Malaysia.  The tag line is "one island, one resort", which sums it up very well.  There are villas dotted around the island, some over the sea on stilts, a few by the beach, and some up the hillside.  There are also a few private "estates", ie extra-posh, extra-large villas with their own staff, grounds,

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-79139329532193430312011-08-03T04:02:00.001+01:002011-08-03T04:03:20.556+01:00

As we walked through the gate into KL Bird Park, our immediate action was "wow" - so many birds, brightly coloured with shimmering hues of blues, greens, yellows, reds - it was amazing. The park is in Lake Gardens, a big "green lung" in KL city centre.  Apparently it is the world's largest free-flight walk in aviary.  We arrived there fairly early on a Saturday morning.  The rain was just

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-72477136295124198312011-07-29T10:56:00.000+01:002011-07-29T10:56:24.910+01:00

A couple of layouts. This is the DLO of our trip to Sunway Pyramid: There's a photo of Will at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company hidden under the bottom left photo - didn't really fit in with the theme of the rest of the LO! This LO just goes to show old stash is worth keeping - I've had that Egyptian paper forever... This LO chronicles our chilly trip to Genting Highlands - the main pic shows

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-69570308017025529772011-07-26T06:19:00.001+01:002011-07-26T06:20:07.304+01:00

A chilly sixteen degrees and pouring with rain - just like a British summer!  This was Genting Highlands, a hotel and lesiure resort about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur.  Set atop the mountains, it is higher than Ben Nevis, and when we went to visit it was shrouded by cloud all day. We spent several hours going around the theme park, going on some of the rides.  It's not exactly Alton

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-70237093655896307612011-07-21T06:30:00.000+01:002011-07-21T06:30:43.757+01:00

I came to KL fully (I think) prepared to expect the unexpected - but I must admit that I really wasn't expecting to come across pyramids and sphinxes while we were here! One pyramid.... .... and one sphinkx, although technically he's probably just a lion, as he didn't have a back end!  He guarded the entrance to Sunway Pyramid, a large, Egyptian-themed shopping mall which is part of a larger

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-9724933582818937142011-07-14T04:30:00.000+01:002011-07-14T04:30:04.191+01:00

It may not seem like much to some of you, but for me it was another step along the road to settling in - driving myself around.  New car, new city, new way of driving (ie you push your way in at junctions and when changing lanes - and consequently have to be prepared to brake quickly to avoid hitting someone who is pushing in! - and you are constantly surrounded by scooters/mopeds weaving

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-36595521287394077342011-07-12T02:30:00.000+01:002011-07-12T02:30:47.126+01:00

It is exactly a week, to the hour, since Will, Caitie and I stumbled somewhat bleary-eyed and bedraggled into our new apartment.  We'd had a busy week, full of lots of travelling and goodbyes, and six days after leaving our old home we were finally entering our new one. And here is the view we were greeted with from our living room: The greenery is KLCC park, and of course you can see the

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-30331609933002199802011-06-20T13:43:00.001+01:002011-06-20T13:46:08.184+01:00

.... or rather, au revoirs, this time to my lovely crafting friends.  We booked tables at our local scrapbooking shop (Paperarts near Stroud), and had a memorable day crafting, chatting and eating far too much!  I must admit to shedding a couple of tears when they gave me a beautiful mini book - each had created a double page layout for it, and it was then lovingly bound by Rooty, who also did a

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-9707024099400362432011-06-12T15:53:00.000+01:002011-06-12T15:54:39.327+01:00

We're all a bit sad this afternoon.  We've had to say goodbye (for now) to my nieces Celeste and Libbie, it'll probably be a good year or so before we see them again. And we've had to say goodbye to our dog, Choccie, who has gone to live with my brother and his family.  We know he couldn't have gone to a better home, but it is still sad saying goodbye to him - he has been with us for nearly

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-15822966232049840122011-06-04T10:33:00.000+01:002011-06-04T10:33:10.969+01:00

After a week of solid doggy paddling to keep my chin above the flood of paperwork that has somehow arisen, I can at last say that I have made it to the shore - the bulk of it is done.  Hurrah!  I have filled in endless tax forms, written a magnum opus to the accountants and completed the ten page (!) property information sheet from the letting agent.  I have registered Will for an important

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-50253527244153283272011-05-26T15:04:00.000+01:002011-05-26T15:04:27.549+01:00

"If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time,  the insane asylums would be filled with mothers." - Edgar W Howe How true!  And so it was with great relief that, as mentioned on yesterday's post, both Will and Caitie got into the Alice Smith School in Kuala Lumpur. For those concerned grandparents, aunts, uncles, et al, it is a British International School where

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5878529264978391641.post-77475008386649051922011-05-25T20:56:00.000+01:002011-05-25T21:00:09.560+01:00

So, after much umm-ing and ahh-ing, plenty of talk but no action, I have finally got around to starting a blog. The intention is that this will help keep our friends and family in the UK reasonably up to date with everything that Alex, Will, Caitie and I are getting up to in Kuala Lumpur when we leave. Which is in five weeks and five days time.  Not that I'm counting or anything. Today, we have

Hilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07772200135070939066noreply@blogger.com5