Langkawi Cable Car

Today we hired the hotel car and decided to drive around the island - which can easily be done in a day. Cute little bright green car - could see us coming a mile away

We went looking for a tailor so Nick could get some shorts made - we did find one. It was quite a nice drive around the island - we decided to go and check out the Langkawi cable car... this particular day we did not actually go on the cable car as we both chickened out just by looking at how high it was.

But we did return a few days later to pick up Nicks shorts and we went back to the cable car and actually went on it .... and it was the most scary thing I think I have ever done. The village you see in the picture is where we started from.....

We shared the cable car with another couple and it was quite funny we barely spoke or took a breath - it really was quite scary. It was so silent and through a skylight the wind was blowing and it was just awful.

But the terrible thing was when we got to the top we knew that there was only one way down - we had to get back on the cable car. As we were going down I had to look back up towards the top I could not look down - it was just awful. But when we finally did get to the bottom we felt like we had accomplished something great.... the Langkawi Cable Car. It apparently is the worlds longest single cabled car- so there you go.

After getting off the cable car we had lunch in the Oriental Village - Thai ....good.

Langkawi .... sunshine

Today we were set to get some serious sunshine and work on getting a tan to take home. We reserved our sunloungers and then went to the Sands Restaurant for breakfast - buffett breaky with just about anything that one could desire. (I was afraid with all this food and drink mixed with lying around the beach that I was going to turn into a 10 tonne tessy!!!!)

The view of the beach was amazing and so peaceful - you could at low tide actually walk right out the the islands - we did not actually do this, some poor asian guy had to be rescued as he stayed out there too long and the tide came in.

We stayed out all day swam in the pool and just raised out little green flag and a girl would come and take out drink/food order - so we really had no need to move all day except to go swimming.

How luxurious is this...heaven.

Saffron for dinner again tonight and time for a big steak, and more to drink .... but no dessert tonight.

Langkawi - Day One

Flew into Langkawi with Malaysia Airlines which was crap, cramped and dirty...will never fly with them again. Flying over Langkawi was incredible seeing all the little islands and the colour of the water. We were headed for Tanjung Rhu Resort.

The service from the hotel staff was fantastic - we were picked up at the airport, check-in was done in the room and we were given a map of the resort and welcome drink. There was fresh fruit on the table for us - well stocked mini bar and coffee machine in the room. We had choosen an all inclusive package so we could eat, drink and be merry 24hrs a day, at any of the hotel restaurants and use room service.

The room was great - huge king size bed, lovely bathroom and a nice big deep bath - which I must say we took advantage of given the water restrictions here in Brisbane....its been such a long time, since I have had a nice long bubble bath....so it was heaven.

And the bathroom had the best ever tweezing mirror with a light around the edge - I wanted to take it home. (and you can buy them from Myers....no I have not bought one just yet!!)

So we just unpacked and relaxed for a while until dinner time. We had three restaurants to choose from for dinner as well as two poolside bars.

We chose the Saffron restaurant overlooking the ocean - sunset was amazing and the food was great too.

So we enjoyed lots of good food and lots of drink while watching a beautiful sunset...this really was paradise.

Tomorrow was time to get some serious sunshine.

December 27 , 2007

Today is our last day in Kuala Lumpur before we fly out for two weeks R&R in Langkawi. So time for some last minute shopping. We checked out Low Yat Plaza - full of mobile phones and all computer stuff, some cheap some not so.





Back at the hotel we sat in the room and watched a storm roll in it was quite cool against the background of the towers

Starhill gallery for dinner - Thai. Excellent choice as the food was great...we had beetle leaves with an assortment of condiments and then King Prawns for main, best prawns that we have had in a long while.

Did some more shopping before heading back to the hotel for an early night before flying to Langkawi.

December 26th, 2007

Today we got up early to go and queue up for tickets to the sky bridge -Petronas Towers, they only give out 1200 tickets daily and its first in first served. We waited for just over and hour and a half and were lucky enough to get two tickets. And boy was it worth queuing up for.

When we arrived we were shown a short video which was 3D and it was all about the building of the towers - it was quite fascinating. The a group of about 15 of us were ushered into a lift and up we went 41 floors in 41 seconds. It was quite a scary feeling (for me anyway) as here we were in this lift going up this huge building cramped in with strangers and my god what if the lift stopped or something happened!!! But obviously it did'nt.

When we got out of the lift wow what a view it was amazing and you felt like you were floating. It was quite a sight from up there and being able to see the actual structure up close. So if you are ever in KL make you you make a trip to go up to the sky bridge - its well worth it.

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After this we did more shopping and had tapas for lunch. Tonight we had a tour booked to China Town and a MalayBuffett Dinner/Dance show - which we were looking forward to

We were picked up at the hotel and it was pouring with rain so the traffic was terrible and the bus was just going nowhere. There was only one other couple on the bus and they were getting pretty annoyed as well. We must have sat on that bus for over and hour which meant that our time at China Town was cut short - which in the end was a godsend as it was still pouring with rain and really China Town was not Nicks cup of tea.

So on we went to the Dinner/Dance Show. Well for starters we had to share the table with some people that ate like that have never been fed before - it really was so gross and made me feel sick just watching them , and put me off my food also. The food was disgusting. The venue was lovely - nice setting .

The dances that were performed were from various areas in Malaysia.

We really were not enjoying ourselves and were disappointed that we had wasted our time on this night out that we ended up leaving and going back to the hotel.

A night to remember for all the wrong reasons.

Christmas Day 2007

What a weird feeling - it does not feel like christmas at all. Shops are open , people are going to work as usual...strange. So what do we do on christmas morning .... we go shopping...of course. Even though there is a christmas tree its not the same as being at home...but much less stress.


So shopping at KLCC... what shall I buy a $1000 handbag...mmm not today. Nick did get a pair of Hugo Boss jeans for half the price that you would at home so that was good.




We made a few quck phone calls home to wish all happy christmas then it was back to the hotel for our christmas lunch in another of the restaurants. It was a buffett lunch with an array of dishes: - japanese, malay, seafood and most important Turkey and cranberry sauce... just devine...I am happy now that I have had my serve of turkey. There was also a little gift bag at the table with whisltes and hats but no-one was in the mood. After lunch we both went upstairs for a nana nap - Nick needed it more than me as he was biten by mossies the night before and good ole nurse Kellie gave him a antihistamine and after he swallowed it I realised that it was sedating...so that was Nick gone for the rest of the day, but at least he was not itchy anymore. We slept for a good three hours and then hit the shops again ...this time it was Times Square with Asias largest indoor theme park - which believe it or not we did not actually find and the shops the higher up you went (1o levels) the weirder the shops became so we decided to go to the most upmarket mall in KL ... Starhill Gallery.
There was even snow falling from one of the upper levels and christmas carolers. Now this was one classy shopping mall for sure. On the ground floor was an amazing selection of restaurants... everything you could ask for.



There was a restaurant that
was surrounded by towers of glass bottles, looked quite good but not so good if you'd had too much to drink and tripped!!!








I had also read on the trip advisor before I came over that if you came to this mall you had to go and check out the toilets...so of course I had to go and see what was so special. The entrance was like walking into a cave.

Once you had done your business there was a young girl waiting for you and she would start turing the wheel (see pic) and the water would start running for you to wash your hands (obviously) then she would hand you a nice warm towel to dry ...really something to see. Quite cool!!!


So back tothe Pavilion for more shopping - bought two handbags and Nick a pair of shoes... now we are on a roll, actually came back to the hotel with quite a stash...nice. Another day over...

Day Two - December 24

Today we went on a tour of the city - which ended up being really interesting. They took us to the Kings Palace which was quite and amazing place. There were guards which every hour perfomed changing of the guard. A real tourist stop this was - could have been at Buckingham Palace!!

Drove past the worlds largest undercover bird park, butterfly park and stopped at Independence Square - a place that was especially built for the play of cricket and where the game of football was first introduced to Malaysia.

We were taken on a tour of the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory which was really interesting - they make all the formual one trophys and all sorts of awards for various functions around the world. Outside the factory is also the world's largest pewter tankard which holdsv 2796 litres of beer - it is hired by companies for social functions. I bought an nice pendant from the factory. They actually make some really beautiful pieces. We ended up buying another pendant from a store in a mall - they also have a store in Melbourne.

Went to the local museum which was really interesting - learnt alot about the history of Malaysia.

Being Christmas Eve we were booked into Gobo Chit Chat one of the restaurants in the hotel for a 5 course Degustation meal. The food was amazing and the service was great - we were served a different glass of wine with each course - seem as I am not really a wine drinker I was half cut before the 3rd course had arrived. All the wines were from Australia and New Zealand. We got a little gift for christmas (olive oil - can't take that home). After dinner we had arranged to go up to the skybar for a Christmas Eve Party which was a bit bizzare - there was a countdown to Christmas day and you could see firewarks over the city - apparently Christams Eve is a huge thing in Malaysia more so than the 25th. There were alot of locals there and we got talking to a few young girls - this was their local hang out most weekends. Drinks were quite expensive - about $15.00 for a local tiger beer - but what the hell its xmas after all.

There was a local DJ - not bad - no dancing though - a bit dodgy as you were around the swimming pool. But the atmosphere was great. Interesting to see how the locals interact.

So overall it was an outstanding dinner and fantastic night. And whata view at night. Those towers really are something.

Malaysia 2007/2008

Finally after counting down from 199 sleeps (sad I know) we were flying to Kuala Lumpur for our month long holiday. A well deserved holiday at that as we had not take a long break for the last five years.

We stayed at the Traders Hotel in Kuala Lumpur - highly recommend this hotel, amazing service, fantastic food, and the most amazing view of the Petronas Towers from our hotel room which was even more spectacular at night time.

Despite travelling through the night and being slightly jet lagged we got a second wind and decided to hit the shops - yes Nick had promised me 5 days of shopping indulgence before we went to Langkawi for some serious R&R.

We went to the new Pavillion Shopping centre which was quite amazing. Lots of designer stores and of course a beautiful christmas tree - and I did not actually buy anything this was just warming up. And things really were not that much cheaper than here - even with the sales on. Of course some things were.


The we went to the more upmarkey KLCC shopping centre which is at the foot of the Petronas Towers - now here were some classy designer stores. And the biggest christmas tree that I have ever seen. Nicks indulgence was Marks and Spencer where he bought licorice alsorts and jaffa cakes!!! and some of his old favourite chippies.



We decided to go check out the swimming pool on the 32nd floor of the hotel which also was a bar/nightclub at night time. Thought we'd go for a swim so got changed - Nick put one foot in the pool and said it was freezing so we decided to forget the swim and sample a local Tiger beer - which was not half bad. And the view was great also.