Just like home!

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 Towers - far fewer rides, and most not nearly as modern - or scary!  But we had a good time nonetheless. 

We had just decided to go home when the rain came - despite moving as quickly as we could under covered walkways, we still got wet.  But at least we weren't one of the poor sods who were stuck on the (very slow) log flume or the paddle boats - swimming would probably have been a drier option!

Walk like an Egyptian?

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 complex that includes a big water park and hotels.

The theme continued in the main entrance area:

The further away from the entrance you got, the more muted the theme - and in one corner the mall went to the opposite extreme by having an ice rink, the biggest in Malaysia apparently (though it may also be the only one...).

Will, Caitie and I had a good afternoon looking round, and both of them donned skates and gloves to try their hand (foot?!) at skating.

Alex joined us for dinner at yet another themed place, right next to the mall entrance, this time one that whisked us off to America and the world of Forrest Gump - Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company!  To quote Bubba:  "...shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."

And that's about it for this blog post - thanks for popping by!

I did it!

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 their way in and out of the traffic, often with scarily few inches to spare).  By the way, I didn't take the above photo while driving - we were stuck in a jam at this point.

Our trip was a relatively short one, to Mid-Valley megamall, which lives up to the mega title - it is HUGE!  We didn't buy much - we were too busy being slightly overawed by the sheer number of shops!  Today we're off to a much smaller and nearer mall, for such glamorous items as shoe laces, printer paper and groceries!

I'll finish off with a fab photo taken by Caitie, with her iPhone, from our living room last night.

One week in.....

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 Petronas Towers beyond that.  The tall building immediately to the right of them is Menara Maxis, where Alex works.  The sandy-coloured building at the bottom of the towers is the Suria Centre, full of shops!  Lots of designer shops, but also some more reasonably priced ones, including a fantastic book shop.

This is the same view by night:

The apartment is great, light and airy, with a shared gym and pool, although so far we haven't had to share them much.  Caitie and I have been swimming virtually every day.

As you might imagine, the last week has been somewhat of a whirlwind, trying to settle into our new home (we're getting there but there are still a lot of things that need proper homes rather than temporary ones), while also getting used to a new country.

We've not done much exploring yet, still busy working out and acquiring the basics, but we have eaten out a few times - more on that in a future post.  We have, however, now got broadband internet - woo hoo!  So the kids can go on Facebook as much as they like, and I can blog again :-)  Caitie has new pets - two goldfish - and Will is at school, making new friends  (Caitie is waiting until the start of the new school year).

And - drum roll please - I have finally made it to the gym! ;-)

More goodbyes...

.... 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 fantastic job of making the cover.  With lots of photos of great times we have shared, and quotes on friendship, it was very touching, and will be treasured.

Here's a photo of us all outside.

This time in two weeks Will, Caitie and I will be in the air, starting our new adventure in KL.

The first of the big goodbyes

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 seven years.

There'll be a few more goodbyes too before we get on the plane three weeks tomorrow.... but it's only goodbye for now, we'll be back :)

Drowning in paperwork

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 pre-uni exam, which he will take in Kuala Lumpur in August, and sorted out a number of school-related things.  I am now suffering from FBS - frazzled brain syndrome!

I've almost finished the decorating too - I feel like having a ceremonial bonfire of paint brushes and dust sheets! 

So now "all" I have to do is pack up our belongings into boxes and suitcases, send endless change of address notifications (assuming we ever get to sign the tenancy agreement in KL, Malaysian lawyers seem to go even slower than UK ones), and tie up 101 loose ends.

Who knows, at some point I might stop being busy for long enough to start looking forward to the next chapter of our adventure through life! ;-)

30 days to go....