Well, I just got back from my fourth trip to Malaysia. I’m starting to feel like a bit of local, especially in Kuching (the hometown of my in-laws).
Don’t worry. For most of my life I didn’t know where it was either.
It was another fantastic trip, so I thought I’d share some pics with you.
First stop was the island of Penang, which neither of us had been to before. There we found cool street art …
… dozens of impressive temples and mosques …
… an equally impressive mansion (the decor on the outside is made from thousands of pieces of broken china bowls) …
… stunning wildlife (at the butterfly farm, botanical gardens and tropical spice garden) …
… a deserted rooftop on a shopping mall where I could out over the town in peace and quiet (while Wife hunted for bargains below) …
… brave (stupid?) men kissing King Cobras (at Penang’s “Snake Temple”)…
… plus, more amazing food than we could possibly eat in one visit – like this dragonfruit and pineapple drink we bought at the hawker food centre on Gurney Drive. Totoro approves.
Then it was off to Kuching, where we were welcomed by Wife’s cat, Mao …
… took a sampan (small boat) across the river to the spectacular Orchid Garden …
… visited a dessert stand where the names of the dishes were extremely entertaining but incredibly uninformative …
… trekked through the jungle at the Kubah National Park, where I had a run in with a leech for the first time and we found a rare Amorphophallus flower, which only blooms for a few days every few years …
… and most importantly, we enjoyed Wife’s sister’s amazing marathon wedding!
But if all that’s not enough to make me an honorary Malaysian, maybe the next trip will do it. We’ll be heading back for Chinese New Year 2014!
A Hole in the Head 
Great pics. I’ll have the Batman with a side of Taylor Swift, please…
Thanks squirrelly one. I’m pretty sure they were all just slight variations on the same thing anyway. I’m imagining that the guy probably didn’t even remember what was what and just threw random toppings on each 🙂
I really enjoyed the month I spent in Penang about a decade ago. I stayed at the Laurel Evergreen hotel , ocean-side. In my travels I struggled with the contrasts in socio-economic status of the communities.
Clear evidence of sexual trafficking (only because I knew what to look for, I guess) and poevrty of so many families.
Hard to witness.
I then travelled over to Langkawi Island for a week and that was a lovely time out.
Miss Lou
p.s: That was a alotta cupcakes! Weddings are such a wonderfully extravagant affair, aren’t they?!
Yeah D and I have explored quite a lot of Malaysia now but haven’t got to Langkawi yet – hopefully soon! We know it’s a more blatantly touristy area, but we hear good things so it should be worth the trip.
This wedding was the most extravagant I’ve ever been part of. Good fun but I think everyone was happy it (hopefully) only happens once. Would be exhausting to do that too often!