Tuk-tuk Adventures in Bangkok

It's about time to write about the past few days before I forget everything. We took the overnight train and arrived in the chaotic Bangkok around 9:00 in the morning on January 13th. We made our way to the our hotel located in the infamous Khao San Road area of the city, which is where most of the travelers congregate. We stayed at the Rambuttri Village Inn and it was an okay room but not great ($33 night). Although the hotel had a nice pool and was in a really great location, the rooms could have used a good cleaning and a coat of paint - not the kind of place for bare feet. Once settled in we headed out for a walk around our neighbourhood and were quickly astonished by the number of guesthouses, restaurants, money changers, and shop stalls on the streets. Our hotel was on Soi Rambutri and so the prices were a bit cheaper than Khao San. We ate most of our meals over the next few days at the hawker stalls on the street. Cheap cheap and really awesome food. Thai food is great and I really enjoyed all of the vegetarian options that were available - lots of veggies, rice, and some amazing curries. It was too bad that Aidan wasn't into the food because he missed some great rice dishes. However he did survive on fruits, fruit shakes, and from the nearby 7-11 yogurt and crackers. I think if we could invest in a world wide company it very well would be 7-11.

The next day we caught a river taxi and enjoyed a bit of a walk in the area around the Grand Palace. We were not dressed appropriately to go in (must have legs and arms adequately covered) and so we headed off in a tuk-tuk to see Wat Traimit (the Temple of the Golden Buddha). The Buddha image is 3 metres tall, weighs 5.5 tonnes and is solid gold. Wow. Aidan also had fun as he got some birds in a little cage to release for good luck. We then headed to a tailors shop because we wanted to find out about getting some clothes made. There are tailor shops everywhere here and for as little as $60 suits can be made. We went to a reputable shop that ships clothing around the world. So after some discussion and some fabric picking, our measurements were taken and we made an appointment to come back the next day for a fitting. I am getting a cashmere suit (jacket, skirt, and pants), another skirt, and 5 blouses, and Michael is having a lovely pinstripe cashmere suit made (jacket, 2 pairs of pants), 5 French cuff dress shirts, and 3 ties. With shipping the total price was about $900. Its more expensive than Khao San, but better quality. We went back to the hotel and had a beer to celebrate.

I should mention that a tuk-tuk is a three wheeled motorcycle with some padded seats in the back, covered by a canopy type roof. They are a widely used kind of taxi that scream around the streets amongst the real taxis, motorcycles and cars. We took a tuk-tuk over to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. This area really is dedicated to Thai Buddhism and is full of very holy sites. Wat Phra Kaew is also known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This whole place just blew my mind. Everywhere I looked was gilded stupas, mosaic encrusted buildings and pillars, marble pediments, some of the most beautiful 20 foot high artwork I have ever seen, and gold, gold, and more gold. Everything is highly ornamented and in the middle of it all is the ultimate shrine to the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha is actually made of jade and was once hidden under a layer of stucco to hide it from the marauding kingdom of Laos. On the same grounds is the Grand Palace is the former royal residence. Now the palace is only used by the king for certain special ceremonies. We took far too many pictures like every other tourist. I think Aidan's favourite part was the gun museum because it had a large collection of very old shotguns and muskets.

Our final stop was Wat Pho, the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok and dates from the 16th century. It is home to the country's largest Reclining Buddha. The Buddha is 46 metres long and15 metres high and shows the passing of the Buddha into final nirvana. The entire figure is finished in gold leaf and mother-of-pearl inlay is on the eyes and feet. By the time we finished here, Aidan wasn't the only one templed-out. With gold in our eyes we headed over to the tailor's for our first fitting. As expected the clothes look great and only a few minor adjustments had to be made. Happy again we headed back to the hotel to celebrate with yet another big Singha and some people watching on the street, then off to Mr. Jim the vegetarian-only hawker guy for some veggies and rice. A good day.

Mike noticed some big changes in Bangkok since he last visited 20 years ago. He found it much tamer and has a much greater mix of east and west than it did before. Some of the rougher edges are gone and there are a lot of skyscrapers, big hotels, and much fewer motorcycles. There are still, however, the travelers of all different types. Most on their way to more rougher travel destinations in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is apparent from walking down the street that anything goes and everything is accepted here. A very chaotic but very fun city where there is something for everyone. We love Bangkok.

Between our sightseeing we also booked our flights to Cambodia and made hotel/guesthouse reservations in the Middle East and Africa. On January 16th we fly to Phnom Penh and from there we will take a bus to Siem Reap so we can spend some time at Angkor Wat. We have booked 10 days in Cambodia and then we fly back to Bangkok and immediately catch an overnight train to take us to Chang Mai in northern Thailand. We fly out of Bangkok for Doha, Quatar on Feb 03.

Ko Phi Phi and wishing I was 20 years younger

We stepped off the ferry and onto Ko Phi Phi, which is off the coast of
southwestern Thailand. It is one of many small islands, and was also
devastated by the tsunami in 2004. The islands were made quite famous
prior, during the filming of the movie The Beach.

So what can we say except this is yet another one of the most amazing
places with amazing beaches. The island is shaped almost like a huge
hourglass with hills on either end and a strip of sand and the townsite
in between. We checked in at the Aswindum Resort, which was a strip of
about 12 hotel rooms. The rooms were clean with AC so no complaints
here. They were a bit removed from any of the many beaches, but this
meant that they were cheaper. They also are right behind the Aswindum
Mauy Thai boxing stadium. More on Mauy Thai later. After settling in we
headed out and had a nice dinner at Hippies restaurant on the beach.
Aidan played on the beach for a few hours and then we headed to bed.

We enjoyed having Thai pancakes for breakfast. These are available at
many stands around the island and are thin pancakes topped with a your
choice of topping (e.g., banana, nutella, ham and egg, banana and egg -
seriously) and cut into squares. After getting some chores done in the
morning we headed to one of the beaches for the afternoon. We walked
along the shore to a more secluded beach and enjoyed walking out in the
crystal clear water. We also had fun people watching. Most of the
tourists on the island are 20 something, most with Australian accents,
traveling in packs of 2- 4, and have 6 pack abs or model perfect
figures. Oh to be young again.... because we would definitely come here
with friends for a guaranteed great time.

Later in the evening we booked a snorkeling trip for the next
afternoon. Mike was right about the food in Thailand - it is great. We
went to a more local restaurant called Papaya and enjoyed some wonderful
Thai cuisine in very large portions for very few dollars. Yummy yellow
and red curries and Singha beer - delicious. The other funny thing
about this restaurant was that the cats sleep in the beer fridge, which
Aidan found to be very funny.

I also should note that the town has two distinct aspects to it:
tourist/backpacker places/resorts and the rest of the town/local homes.
The resort might be nestled around a nice pool with some nice bungalows,
but the path to the resort is lined with construction rubble, garbage,
and wood/tin shacks. The entire island is a series of pathways as there
are no cars or motorcycles only lots of people on bicycles trying to get
around all the slow moving tourists on the pathways. It was also
interesting to note the variety of smells while walking as they ranged
from yummy chicken grilling on fires to fish to garbage to latrine and
then back to something yummy again.

Saturday afternoon was spent on a snorkeling trip around Phi Phi Ley
island. We headed out with our guide Josh and one other guy who was
from Denmark in one of the longboats. We passed by some huge caves
along the way and Josh pointed out the bamboo ladders and ropes high
on the cliffs into the various caves. These are used by the sea
gypsies, who harvest bird nests every year, which they sell to the
Chinese. These are worth a great deal of money as they are made from
the bird's spit and the nests are used to make the famous bird nest
soup. The sea gypsies actually live in one of the larger caves and we
waved as we went by in the boat. We soon found ourselves as our
snorkeling site and were soon in the water. The nice thing was the
company provided wet suites to protect us from sea lice bites. So I
learned that the little stings I kept getting in the water that would
disappear within a couple of minutes are sea lice. Great. Anyway we
all had a lot of fun in the water and were happy that Josh guided us
around and pointed out some of the smaller things that we might have
missed. Lots to see including many different fish, but the best part
was the incredible variety of coral along one of the reef walls. I was
really happy to see fan coral, huge areas of brain coral and many giant
clams. Aidan is turning into a little fish so he also had lots of fun.
The next stop was just off Maya Beach (were the movie was filmed). We
didn't go on the beach because they charge a fair amount of money to
step foot on the sand, but we did board the Sea Ranger and had a bite to
eat with the divers on board. The next stop was at a different point
around the island, where Mike had great fun snorkeling into a cave and
then following a large sea turtle around for quite a while. By the time
we got back to the hotel we were tired, but our day wasn't done yet.

It was Saturday night and we had tickets to see the Mauy Thai matches
that started at 9:30. So after a quick dinner and a brief rest it was
off to the stadium. There was no charge for Aidan, who had been kind of
adopted by the two young men at the hotel who were former Mauy Thai
fighters. They really wanted us to go and see the matches. The match
started with two 14 year olds, who honestly looked about 10 years old.
Children as young as 8 years old can be involved in professional
matches. The 14 year olds already had 25 professional fights under their
belts. As the matches progressed so too did the ages and experience of
the fighters. There were 8 matches and each match consists of 5, 3
minute rounds. In the first two rounds the fighters sound each other
out and it is not until about the third round that things really get
going. Of the 8 matches, 6 were won by knockout. Although the fighters
wear boxing gloves, they really score points by using their knees,
elbows, and feet (kicks to the upper body). I couldn't believe how
lightening fast they are and how many kicks and elbows they could
withstand. These guys are solid muscle. The other interesting thing is
that the Thai people go crazy for their national sport. They were all
up screaming and yelling and betting and soon all the foreigners in the
audience were up screaming and chanting along with them. It really was
some interesting entertainment and we all enjoyed the action. We took
quite a bit of video to remember the blood and kicks to the head. It
made Mike want to go TKD sparring. The next day Aidan had his own
private lesson from the hotel workers/Mauy Thai fighters and he really
enjoyed learning some basic moves in the big ring.

On our last full day on Phi Phi we took a longboat over to Long Beach
for the afternoon and did some snorkeling. We were a bit saddened by
the state of the reef. Farther out from Long Beach, near Shark Point,
the reef was in fairly good shape, but as one moved closer to the beach
not much remained. The longboats taxi people back and forth all day and
constantly scrape the boats along the reef, and then there are the
tourists who don't know any better and stand up on the coral. They
obviously don't realize that coral only grows about 1 cm every year and
that standing on it kills it. I would guess that most of the reefs
around Phi Phi will be gone within the next 10 years or so. It really
is too bad.

I almost forgot to mention a funny sign we saw at a restaurant. It was
for an all you can eat BBQ and written on a chalk board was the
following list (amounts are in Baht - 30 Bt = $1 Cdn):
Men ... 220
Ladies...150
Ladyboys...180
Child...100

We managed to get to yet another beach on the island for a last swim on
our very last day. In the afternoon we caught a ferry boat back to
Krabi for the start of our journey to Bangkok. We piled into a flatbed
truck contraption that held about 15 people into the back and were
whisked away to a dirt patch somewhere to catch a bus to somewhere
else. I cannot remember the name of the town. It is where the train
station is located. So the bus left at 6:00 and our train was at 8:45
and we arrived at the train station at 8:30 - but we shouldn't have been
concerned because things don't really run on time here too much. The
train didn't come until about 9:30 so we had time to chat with people
and have tea and jam toasties for dinner from the vendors (well Mike had
pork buns and Aidan and I had toasties made in an ancient snackmaster).
We then boarded the 2nd class sleeper train for the overnight trip to
Bangkok.

Coming up soon ... One night in Bangkok ....actually a few nights in
Bangkok...

Posing with Pythons and other fun things to do in Malaysia

On our last day in Kuala Lumpur we headed to the Batu Caves. We cursed ourselves for not simply hiring a taxi as they are very cheap. The book said that the bus was only 1/2 hour so we took the bus. Travelers beware - sometimes the travel books lie. So almost 1.5 hours later we arrived at the caves vowing to take a taxi back (the taxi back took under 15 minutes). The Batu Caves are situated 272 steps up the side of a cliff and are home to a Hindu shrine. The three caves are guarded by a 43 metre high Murga statue. These caves are immense - over 100 metres high and also home to a very large troop of monkeys. We missed out on seeing the pilgrimage that happens at the end of January every year when about a million pilgrims come to the caves during Thaipusam to engage in or watch the spectacularly masochistic feats of the devotees. Think National Geographic specials on people skewering body parts. The other fun activity in the caves is posing and having a picture taken with a Burmese python. I did it and it was fun - nice snake. We ended the evening at the Central Market food court. I really love the food courts in Malaysia. They are almost like really good restaurants. We had sizzling chicken and rice on a hot grill that was brought to our table - yum.

The next morning we caught a bus for Georgetown on Penang Island. The bus left late, but it was quite a nice bus with air conditioning and it was cheap. Six hours later we arrived and got a taxi to the Naza Hotel. It was a nice room, but the hotel's location was not ideal - it was a bit out of the main part of Georgetown along the beach and nothing was within walking distance. Our taxi driver's name was Danny and we arranged to have him take us around for a tour of the town the next day. Most taxi driver's will provide this service, and Danny spoke really good English and knew lots about Georgetown and the island's history. After settling in at the hotel we took another cab into Little India as I wanted to go to a particular vegetarian restaurant that was recommended. Unfortunately not all taxi driver's are alike and this one dropped us off and said the restaurant was just within this strip mall area. After a bit of searching and map reading we found out that the jerk dropped us off several kilometers from where the restaurant actually was located. Another lesson learned - pay attention to the streets and make sure that driver understands where you want to go. Anyway we walked for a while and finally got to the edge of the Little India area where we found a suitable restaurant and had some really good Tandoori chicken. All worked out in the end.

Danny picked us up bright and early and we all headed to the Penang Butterfly Farm that not only had butterflies, but also a large assortment of reptiles, turtles, and millipedes. We then stopped at Batu Ferringhi, which is Penang's best beach area and is lined with resorts. This area of Penang was grazed by the 2004 tsunami and Danny showed us some other areas that were completely destroyed. We then visited a Buddhist temple where Aidan and I received a blessing from the Buddhist monks. Aidan was afraid at first because we had to kneel in front of them and they sprinkle water on your head and then tie a string around your wrist. He was fine though and answered the questions they asked. I will say that unlike most Christian churches that make me feel small and inconsequential, I find these temples to be very calming and soothing. Anyway a nice feeling.

Our next stop was to Penang Hill. We took the very slow cable car up to the top and were rewarded by the amazing views of the city. Unfortunately, it was getting late so we rushed around and caught the next cable car down as they only run every 1/2 hour. It was really cool at the top and we all would have liked to stay longer. Our final stop was at the Penang Toy Museum. Aidan says if he has to see temples then we have to see toys. It wasn't that bad and they had the biggest collection of action figures I have ever seen. Aidan was in heaven examining all the Star Wars toys. Finally we headed back to the hotel for a walk down the beach and a swim. The beach near our hotel wasn't in the best shape - it was quite dirty and we were told that farther towards town it was polluted. Beautiful sand covered with garbage, which was really too bad. We ended the evening with a stop at the outside food court area near the hotel. We all ended up having different things - Aidan had pork buns, I had some kind of noodle soup, and Mike had clay pot chicken with rice. Again the total cost was a whopping $4.

The next morning came very early as our mini-van was picking us up at 4:30 a.m. for the 10 hour ride to Krabi, Thailand. So the van came and it was a 12 seater and was full. We got the three seats in the back and away we went. It stopped somewhere around 7:00 a.m. for a toilet/breakfast break and then headed along the highway at breakneck speeds until we reached the border. The crossing went very smoothly. Unfortunately, the rules about visa's for Thailand changed in December and now if you enter by land they only grant a visa for two weeks. This means we need to leave the country by the 23rd and then come back in again (because we don't fly out of Bangkok until the first week of February). Good thing we had always planned on trying to go to Cambodia.

As the day wore on we ended up stopping in Hat Yai and changing to an even more wretched and full mini-van. I only say that because the air-conditioning wasn't working well and by the time we got to Krabi we were feeling the 30C heat and not in a good way. It really didn't help that the area behind our seats was loaded with bags of some kind of dried fish and it really didn't smell that great. The luggage was all tied on the roof. Aidan, of course, was just fine and spent most of the van time either sleeping or playing his DS. There was a couple from Finland in the van and they said it was the worst trip they had ever had and we said - no really it could have been a lot worse - this wasn't that bad. Then we regaled them with some travel stories. So we got dropped in Krabi and then got picked up by a big truck thing that took us to the ferry terminal. Here we boarded a very large ferry that took us to our final destination - Ko Phi Phi Island.

We found a hotel and got settled. More on Ko Phi Phi later - but think Leonardo Dicaprio's film "The Beach" as it was made near here.

Notes on toilets: Yes the squat toilet and I are trying to get along ... become friends... but it has not been easy. I read an article in one of the newspapers while traveling between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur that described with vivid detail the problem with public toilets in Malaysia. The main problem cited by the author is that they are generally dirty and even though efforts have been made to put in "western toilets", many people don't know how to use them and end up squatting on top (which would really make a mess) despite the instructional signs. I have gotten really good at the half squat over the wet western toilets.

Now, I am trying to get use to the full squat toilet. It really seems quite simple - put a foot on either side and squat over the ceramic bowl. It doesn't appear difficult and actually Aidan has no problem with it at all. Everyone in Asia squats and I don't mean only for the toilet. People seem to squat all the time whether for working or resting. I, on the other hand, have not assumed this squatting position since I was about 5 years old, and so it does not come naturally. It actually makes ones legs tremble after a bit and then there is the worry if I can actually stand or if I will fall over. The other issue with the women's toilets is that if you want toilet paper - you better remember to bring your own. Otherwise you will need to use the bucket of water or, in most circumstances, the hose near the toilet. I have yet to figure out how to clean with the the water from the hose without getting really wet. So I have gotten quite good at not forgetting to bring my own paper. As well, I strongly recommend wearing good soled sandals or shoes. I am so thankful to have the thick soled sandals I do as I am ugged out by water, that might not be clean, touching my feet. I have yet to enter a public toilet that does not have a good layer of water on the floor (from the hoses that I mentioned earlier). Trust me - you don't want to be prancing about in dainty shoes or flip-flops. Well, I don't anyway. The toilets haven't frightened me so much that I want to run home, but it does pay to know about these things and not to be squeamish. After all soap will clean up everything. And that's all I am going to say about the toilets.

KL Rocks

We were out late into the night walking around our neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur. Everyone is out at night and we are a block away from a Chinese night market area. Mike was happy to find roasted chestnuts and I was happy to see the many fruit vendors. We stalked up on oranges and dragon fruit for breakfast.

After a late morning start we headed out to see the KL sights. We caught the monorail and headed toward KL Tower. We took a wrong turn off the monorail and eventually had to ask for directions. We ended up walking up to the tower through a lovely nature conservation area, which was nice and cool in the heat. We headed up the tower to the observation deck and had a spectacular look at the city (just like being up the CN Tower). KL is home to 1.4 million people and looking out at the city left us in a bit of an awestruck state.

The city is densely populated with many many towers and high rises in clusters around large park areas. These are then repeated and are linked by both LRT and Monorail systems. After riding both systems, we were moaning about how horrible our own public transportation systems are in Canada. We are really going to miss the transportation systems of just about every city we have been in on this trip. Buses and trains run every 3 - 4 minutes. Here there are dozens of pedestrian malls where the LRT runs that would rival any of the malls in Edmonton.

The other thing immediately apparent about KL is that everyone speaks English and we have never had so many strangers offering to help us (without wanting us to buy something). I also noticed that this is a real mix of cultures and styles. On the same street you will find women fully covered, partially covered (just head scarf) and wearing western clothes. We have seen Muslim women with tropically coloured head scarves and flowing skirts, Indian women wearing sari's and adorned with bindis, and others in jeans and flip-flops - and nobody bats an eye.

After getting impressive views of the city, we headed to the Petronas Towers and the KL shopping mall at the base of the towers. We headed to the food court for lunch and were treated to some amazing food choices - Malaysian, Thai, Japanese, etc. All on actual dinnerware and people actually clearing the tables. I have never seen such a multicultural selection of food types. That being said, Aidan had a hot dog. After lunch and a quick look around a really fabulous and beautiful mall, we headed outside to the big park at the base of the towers.

The very large greenspace is also home to a huge playground and water splash park for kids. There were many people out and Aidan had a great time playing. The backdrop of course was the towers. They really are impressive and beautiful structures and it was hard not to stop looking at them or taking pictures. Honestly it was hard to believe that we were in KL and not some big city in Canada or the USA.

We were unable to go up the towers because there are only so many people allowed up each day. We will try and go on Tuesday as they are closed on Monday.

We ended our day with a trip to Aquaria, which is in the convention centre across from the towers. Again, a great and inexpensive way to spend a few hours. Aquaria is a great education resource about aquatic species and has a huge array of fish, reptiles and spiders. The biggest thrill was a 20 metre long tunnel that is beneath a huge aquarium. Here we had a close up look at tiger sharks, reef sharks, manta rays, groupers, eels, turtles, many species of fish, etc. It really was amazing. They have done a fabulous job and the information is available in several languages. Can's express enough how great this was.

Anyway, we hope to get to see some other sites tomorrow. I didn't know what to expect from KL, but I am very impressed from what I have seen so far.

Onwards to Malaysia

This morning we packed our things and jumped on the bus to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The trip took 6 hours, but was quite pleasant. Our bus had huge seats with tons of leg room and you could almost lay back flat for a nap.

The highway from Singapore to KL is very impressive. Its smooth and modern and beautifully maintained. There are gardens and hedges the whole way and I did not a single scrap of garbage the whole trip. Unfortunately there is not much else to see on the way other than palm tree plantations (for palm oil) and the odd town off in the distance.

We arrived in KL and had a relatively quick walk to the Matahari Hostel ($30 night) from the bus station. The hostel is in the middle of the Chinatown district, which makes Susan very happy because the excellent souvenir shopping. Tomorrow we'll go visit the Petronas Towers and aquarium.

Our Night Safari

Susan's written the last 3 blogs, so its my turn again.

We last left our intrepid heroes at the Tresor Tavern hostel where they were getting ready to visit the Singapore Night Safari (night zoo). After finishing the blog, we walked over to another hotel to catch the zoo bus, which was supposed to whisk us there in about 30 minutes. However, our quick trip turned into an hour and a half farce.

The bus arrived packed, with people standing in the aisle. In a third-world country, we would have just crammed on board and gone there, but being Singapore, they called in another bus. We ended up waiting in a very hot bus for an hour while the ticket collector and the bus driver yelled at each other in front of all the passengers. Not an auspicious start to the night.

Luckily the night zoo was worth the effort to get there. We sat down for a quick (and expensive) bite to eat and ended up catching the Borneo tribal show, which included lots of fire breathing. Aidan was very impressed. Then we went on a quick walk to see the fishing cat (leopard that catches fish with its paws) and caught the Animals of the Night show (hyenas, etc.) before getting on the tram to see the rest of the park (lions and tigers and bears, oh my).

We highly recommend visiting the Night Safari if you are in Singapore. The quality of the zoo exhibits was outstanding and we really enjoyed walking around at night. Our favourite moment was seeing the giant fruit bats up close and personal as they whizzed around your head. Our only reservations are the cost ($60) and the crowds (prodigious). Susan would also add that you have to put up with the stupidity of people that can't seem to turn off the flashes on their cameras after being told to do it 10 times.

It's really hot ... so why do I have a cold?

I am sick with a cold. It just doesn't feel normal to have a cold in 30C heat.

After a slow start yesterday morning, we headed out for lunch in Little India. Then we took the MRT to Raffles station, which is downtown. We spent the next few hours wandering along the river, admiring the buildings, and getting iced coffee at Starbucks. Mike had fun seeing how things had changed since he was last in Singapore (20 years ago). We then headed over to Orchard Road to check out the shopping. It really is an amazing part of Singapore and was all done up with lights for Christmas. We walked into one mall and laughed at the huge lineup of people waiting to get into the Louis Vutton store. All high end stores again and lots of shoppers. By this time it was raining. We headed to Marks and Spencer in hopes of finding brie and grape sandwiches, but alas they didn't have a real food court - only cookies. I really wasn't feeling well so we headed across the street to catch a movie. Although Adam Sandler isn't my favourite, the movie Bedtime Stories wasn't too bad. Aidan really enjoyed it. By the time we made it back to our hostel it was 10:00 and we promptly went to bed.

Our roommate, Christian, didn't make it back to the hostel last night - he was visiting his ex-girlfriend (or is it back to being girlfriend now?). He came back this afternoon and said that he was going to stay at her place for a while, so we have the room to ourselves tonight.

I am still sick. Mike went out this morning and bought bus tickets to Kuala Lumpur (10:30 bus tomorrow), while Aidan and I did some schoolwork. Aidan is currently working his way through one of the Treehouse series of reading books "Dinosaurs at Dark" or something like that. Diane gave us four of them when we were in Hong Kong and he seems to like them.

Mike and Aidan then headed out for lunch and then to run some errands. I went back to bed. Mike got a package mailed home (trinkets and trash) and then he and Aidan went to get a GST refund. When you purchase goods here and don't live here you get the GST back (like home I think). He had to bring proof that he was leaving the country and his passport. It's not a lot of money - but hey $40 can get us a room somewhere in Malaysia. They wouldn't refund the GST because apparently you have to be leaving town by airplane - for some unknown reason buses don't cut it. Mike said he was so furious and frustrated that he actually started yelling at the woman. Oops. So no refund. Oh well. I think he is going to get the receipt stamped by customs at the border and try mailing it in to the customer service people or something like that.

We are headed off to the night safari at the zoo after dinner. Unfortunately we haven't been able to do too much here because I haven't felt all that great. Now Mike has the snuffles and is likely getting my cold. Probably a good thing that tomorrow is being spent on a bus - not a lot of thought required.

Aidan is doing well and enjoys coming down for breakfast earlier than us in the morning and entertaining all the guests.