Panorama Langkawi

Today we explored a different part of the island, travelling over the rainforest by cable car. (The steepest in the world)

There were some stunning views from the top and on the skybridge. Toby was unsure about the whole thing but conquered his fear and made it up to the top and onto the skybridge.

Whilst we were waiting for our time to go on the cable car we went on a 3d dinosaur experience and browsed the souvenir shops.

Once we were back on ground level it was time for lunch (noodles from one of the many food courts) and set off back to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon by the pool.

We are nearby a large resort called Pantai Cenang with loads of choices for dinner so tonight was Thai green curry with rice and spring rolls. Seemingly expensive at 90 RM (Malaysian ringgit) but that's less than £20!

More souvenir shopping after dinner, the shops are open until 10pm, and home for bed. We're all looking forward to a lie in tomorrow.

Things we have learned about Malaysia:

It's far cooler up high in the mountains

In general no one uses knives, only forks and spoons (if they're not using their right hand or chopsticks)

Langkawi

After a lie in to recover from the late night we enjoyed the hotel breakfast and relaxed by the pool before hiring a couple of sea canoes and setting off to the island we can see from the hotel beach.

We made it there to find out it's a monkey habitat, then set off back again under time pressure to return the canoes.

We found a lovely beach side place for lunch (Indian food) and the total cost of it was £5 for all of us.

In the afternoon we drove across to Eagle Square, which was in a town and far more busy than our little resort. This is where the ferries to Langkawi arrive.

When driving on Langkawi we have to look out for stray buffalo on the road! We've also seen monkeys as we were driving along.

Dinner tonight was Malayan food. V spicy and not quite what we expected but tasty.

What we learned about Malaysia today:

Little spice has a whole different meaning here.

Baby octopus legs are nicer than their brain (Toby)

Moving on

This afternoon we left the Price family in Penang and flew up to Langkawi.

Before that there was time for a dip in the pool and a trip to Tesco for snacks and supplies. Strange to see the familiar branding on so many unrecognisable products. There is also a whole aisle of rice.

The taxi driver (to the airport) filled us in on the culture and pointed out the sights on the way, including the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship in port, and some mini hot air balloons along the walkway in the park, left from the festival a few weeks ago.

We flew on a small propeller plane to Langkawi which the boys found very exciting, and we arrived at our hotel in time for a swim in the pool and a walk on the beach at sunset.

We watched the tiny crabs going in and out of their holes on the beach as we wandered along.

Writing from the terrace whilst the boys are in our room going to sleep. It's far hotter out here than it is in there with the air con on.

Culture and thrills!

Today we had a more local day.

This morning Joanne went with Joanna visiting a lady she has been working with, spending an hour or so in their home, which as refugees consists of one room floor 2 adults and 2 young boys, with a shared kitchen and bathroom with neighbouring rooms.

It was hot and humid but the 2 boys were delightful and keen to show us their numbers and few English words.  We were not expecting to be fed but the host family insisted so we had delicious rice, veg curry and fish to eat.

Back home the boys went to the 'wet market' to buy provisions for the evening meal. They bought veg, milk and enjoyed a roti snack taking in the bustling environment and interesting food stalls.

After a dip in the pool to cool off they had lunch and a rest whilst Jon and James negotiated with the beach adventure sports owner about prices for the activities. They finally returned with James having won over the guy to let Jonathan and Joanne have a free accompanying ride on the parasailing that Matthew andcream.

r were keen to do!

So reluctantly Jon went with Matthew and I went with Peter being towed behind a boat on a parachute. Then we all went on the conveniently 5 Seater towed inflatable that William, the 3 and a half year old we're staying with, calls the 'sofa boat'.

The parasailing was surprisingly peaceful after take off and the sofa boat was a bit more hair raising, with Toby hanging on for dear life as he bounced around on it like a trampoline.

After a delicious meal of noodles and stir fry we went for dessert at the night market. In the same location as the wet market with stalls of food intermingled with cheap plastic toys, we opted for sweet pancakes, frozen yogurt and coconut milk ice cream.

The 2 dads and 2 oldest boys then dashed off to see a football match that started at 9pm, so hopefully they'll stay awake until the end.What 

we learned about Malaysia today:

The word for fresh milk is susu segar

Turtle beach and Penang hill

Early start for us today, leaving the house at 7.30am heading for End of the world car park.

From there we walked for about 2 hours through the humid rainforest to get to turtle beach, which was deserted and really beautiful.

After seeing the 2 day old baby turtles we spent an hour swimming in the warm sea and relaxing on the beach before catching our boat back to the end of the world. Quote of the day was the boat driver when we negotiated the price. He said "driver my brother, same face!"

After lunch of roti at a hawker market we headed home to cool down and relax before heading off on another explore.

In the late afternoon we all headed out to Penang Hill, where you catch the funicular to the top and it's 5c cooler. The boys enjoyed the train ride and the breeze was lovely!

We looked at the view by day and waited for sunset to see the view as the city lights came on, which was more spectacular. After the funicular journey back down the hill we stopped at another hawker market for the classic Penang dish of Char Koayn tiow (noodles and prawns).

Things we learned about Malaysia today:
Apple juice in Malaysia is not the same. (Next time we'll order water or watermelon)

Local life

Today we took it easy to take time to recover from the journey and adjust to the new time zone. We appreciated the view from the balcony by day and after a morning at the pool we headed over to a local restaurant for a lunch which was Indian food, served on a banana leaf.

we had a quiet afternoon in the apartment then spent an hour at the pool before heading to the mall to get a few things, including some fippers (flip flops) and sun hats. Over tea the boys watched the banana boats, water skiing and jet skis on the sea right outside.

What we've learned about Malaysia:

It's offensive to to enter a house wearing shoes so everyone has a shoe rack outside their door. 

Shopping malls are pretty much the same as at home.

We've arrived in Malaysia

After a long journey we have arrived safely at James and Jo's apartment in Penang to a lovely welcome.

The long 12 hour flight was improved by having 8 seats between us so we got more sleep, but a stressful half hour in Kuala Lumpur airport meant us getting to check in for our internal flight after it closed. Fortunately they still checked our luggage in and we made it to the boarding gate by running across the airport.

However, at Penang airport we had to join the lost luggage queue after the belt stopped and our luggage had not arrived. Panic stations.

As a result of slow service and other people losing their luggage ticket we were still in the luggage hall 30 min later, when the luggage belt cranked into life and lo and behold our 3 suitcases appeared.

3 boys tucked up in bed by 9pm (we're 7 hours ahead here). We'll be going to bed shortly. It's 32c at 10pm.

Here's a view from the balcony.