The trip - Almost immediately upon arrival in India Stacy and I had started planning our first trip.  Without much consideration (mostly because we both knew where we really wanted to go first) we decided upon Singapore and Malaysia.  Before Googleing our destinations I had visions of Junk ships, old fishing boats, bustling open air markets, strange architecture, and completely foreign cultures and people.  A little research told me that these over romanticized expectations were a product of my slightly sheltered life thus far.  Although India is quite different from the US in many ways, Singapore and to a lesser extent Malaysia, were fairly “westernized”, developed, or modern.  But after reading a little bit about food, sights, shopping (Stacy), and tropical islands I forgot all about my shattered child-like dreams of seeing pirates and remote tribes of cannibals and pursued trip planning with renewed vigor.  Actually after reading a little bit about modern pirates I was REALLY happy that we weren’t going to see any. I also found that there are some extremely remote tribes and villages that tourists can have access to but I don’t think that’s a trip for children or casual travelers. Instead we opted for a few day stay in Singapore then on to a one day stay in Kuala Lumpur before traveling to a small Malaysian island called Big Perhentian.

Singapore - Our flight from BIA to Singapore left around midnight and we were all pretty excited to be going on our first “Out of India” trip.  This was also our first experience flying out of the new Airport thus our first opportunity to see the place that we had heard so much about.  It was nice.  I was impressed even though we had to pay an extra 1000RP airport user fee per ticket for our international flight which we found out about only at the ticket counter.  Stacy (who wasn’t real happy about the surprise additional charge) paid so that we could catch our plane.  The airport, which has a Pizza Hut and King Fisher bar, and surrounding grounds themselves were very nice but the drive there seemed to take forever.  I guess that’s a small price to pay for decreased traffic on the main road at home in Bangalore.  We flew Tiger Airways which is a discount carrier in Asia.  I found out pretty quick that Tiger is intended for budget minded people of a smaller stature than tall cheap Americans.  The flight was good enough and the kids were good even though it was a lot cramped. We arrived at the airport in Singapore in the morning and took a shuttle to the Royal Plaza on Scotts, our hotel.   It was right out in front of the hotel that we found our favorite McDonalds After a couple McGriddles, Pancakes, and hash browns that we had been missing for a whole 3 months in India we were all ready for a nap.  When we woke up we headed out for a walk and found Singapore to be everything that we had heard it would be (after I gave up the notion of pirates). We were on Orchard Road which is the main shopping district.  There were malls, restaurants, bike shops, and just about anything else you could imagine.  All of the grounds were impeccably manicured and, most important of all, litter free. There were side walks, traffic lights that people seemed to follow, everything was extremely clean, there were no horns honking, no dogs or other animals of any sort, and were even saw a Bentley and Ferrari Enzo to boot.  It was also HOT and HUMID.  We found the nearest Starbucks and DQ for some dearly missed treats, bought the kids a few Singapore t-shirts, and caught a cab to Chinatown.

Chinatown was kind of like a state fair with a Chinese flair.  There were a lot of little shops, booths, and generally just a lot of people selling a lot of “Chinese” or asian-type goods.  Of course Preston loved it.  There were t-shirts with dragons and skulls and flames every where and tons of yu-g-o and power ranger stuff.

All the walking and staring at the same thing booth after booth we had worked up a hunger… and a thirst.  We had our first meal in the food eating capital of the world.  I don’t remember what the hell it was but it was good. And the Tiger beer that went along with it was awesome because I’m pretty sure that by that point I had sweated out most of my bodily fluids.

From here we headed up to a place called Clarke Quay (pronounced “Key”).  Clarke Quay was a neat little walk along the river.

There were mostly just a bunch of bars, restaurants, and night clubs but it was still a nice place to visit. Not to mention there were bum boats on the river which I wanted to take up to another quay to see an eating competition.  We hopped on one and got a little tour of the river walks in Singapore before heading up to Robertson quay.

The eating competition was a hoot but the supposed “Food Festival” that was supposed to be held there was kind of a dud.

So we ended up walking all the way back to Chinatown to see the lanterns light up the streets and partake in another excellent meal accompanied by the Singapore staples: the Singapore Sling and tall Tiger.

After we filled up on the best Chinese food ever we headed back to the hotel.

The next day we went to the Singapore zoo.  After a another sweet McDonalds breakfast and a little bumming around the malls we headed to the Singapore zoo.  Its a great zoo with lots of animals.

After the zoo we got up the guts to head to Little India.  Little India is an area of town where there is a high concentration of, yup you guessed it, Indians .  Stacy really wanted to go because there is a “mall” there called Mustafah. Mustafah has everything!  From high end watches to discount socks and deodorant, this place had it all.  The place was a zoo in itself though.  It was elbow to elbow people and the rows were only one person wide.  So we were constantly squeezing past people and being hurried along.  Anyone with claustrophobia would have run out screaming.  I kid you not this place was like a Super Target stacked on top of a Mega Wal-Mart but only in a building the size of a 2 story Starbucks.  It was really no place for kids or strollers but what the heck we were already there. Stacy found a watch and I found a 7-11 that sold beer and fountain pop.  Preston and I were happy.  Outside Mustafah was not much better than in.  Imagine the Minnesota state fair on its busiest day and multiply that by 10 and add cars.

There were guys selling Bollywood movies with megaphones and everyone was totally entranced by the movies playing on TV’s. At this point I noticed something strange about little india, there were no women.  Aside from Stacy and a few other brave souls at Mustafah there was not a female anywhere.  I found out that this is because many Indian men come to Singapore on construction contracts to earn money for families at home.  Aside from that oddity I actually found it a lot like India.  There were open markets everywhere.  There were fish stalls, mutton stalls, chicken stalls, and veggies everywhere.  Too bad there was also litter everywhere.  The only thing missing were auto rickshaws, cows, and dogs… and women in sarris.  We decided we had had enough of Little India and headed out for dinner.  We decided to get brave and try the food stalls at a hawker court as they are known.  At first sight these places are kind of intimidating.  But it turns out that the food is awesome!  I liked it a lot and I really wish India and America had food stalls.  Back to the hotel.

The next day brought a McDonalds breakfast and a trip to Sentosa Island.  We took a gondola over the water way to the
island.

The ride ends on a hill where for a mere $40/person you can ride down on a sled with wheels.  I guess it was a small price to pay for the highlight of the trip for Preston.  There were a few other attractions here; a butterfly park, a 4-d movie theater, and a beach with a few restaurants.  After a few hours we were ready to go.  We took the tram across to the mall and hung out there in a park on the roof while Stacy shopped.

After this excitement we went to Jumbo’s Seafood for dinner.  We had Pepper Crab, fried noodles, and some other stuff.  It was soooooo good.  We decided that the day was done and went to find our bed.

The next day we mostly just hung out on Orchard road until we had to check out and get to the airport for our flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  While checking out we ran into this cool little dude:

He and Elise really seemed to like each other.  Once checked out we took a cab to the airport where we had a little snack and hung out until our plane boarded.

Kuala Lumpur:
We arrived in KL (actually the airport is about 1 hour from the city) in the afternoon.  All of us piled into a taxi and headed to the hotel.  The drive was pretty cool.  The area is very green and lush.  There are a few major city areas Cyberjaya, Putrajaya, and Little Lebonon along the way.  After checking into the Swiss Garden Hotel we ventured out on the street.  We walked to a few malls that were near by.  The places were hectic and crawling with people.  The malls were huge.  Our target was a mall that seemed to give the MOA a run for its money.  It also had an indoor amusement park that Preston immediately fell in love with.  After repeated promises to return for some rides we left to find dinner.  We ended up on a road filled with food vendors and food stalls.  As we walked the street we had every vendor trying to sell us crab, prawn, “lobster”, and fish.  I guess seafood is big here.  We quickly decided on a place that sold, you guessed it, seafood.

We ordered and ate… I can’t remember what it was again but i was great as usual.  We also discovered a new beer, Carlsburg.  Preston discovered Satay and that seemed to become his staple for a few days.

It was at the end of the meal that Elise decided that she had to use the toilet.  It turns out that we were lucky to be done eating.  I don’t know whats worse: the lack of public toilets in Bangalore or the condition of a public toilet in KL.  I guess I was wrong to have expected much but my god… Im pretty sure that I would have lost my appetite had I not already eaten.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  The next morning we woke up and ate an excellent breakfast at the hotel.

First stop for the day was the mall that we were at the night before.  The kids had been asking for a “kids day” and with the rides at the mall I figured this would be it.

Both kids were in heaven. Even Stacy and I were looking forward to a couple rides. Then Preston found out that he didn’t quite meet the height requirement for most of the big kid rides. He was not happy.

Then he found the bumper cars and made a few friends and he forgot about the rides that he couldn’t go on.  Both he and Elise spent most of their time on the kids bumper cars.

Stacy and I both went on the roller coaster and the… some other ride.  Yeah, it was fun.  Then it was time to head to the worlds second tallest (and coolest looking) building, the Petronas Towers.  We took the train there and found out that the only way to get to the sky bridge between the two buildings was with a tour group.  There was no way to go to the top unless you were there on business.  And all the tour groups for the day, our one and only day in KL, were full!  But Stacy got on a tour coordinators good side and he snuck us in ;-)  Sometimes its nice to be an American family in the east… there are some times that make you feel like a rock star or sports star.. this was one of those times.  It was cool.

When the tour was over we shopped for a bit in the mall attached to the towers.  Then headed to China town (KL has one too) to shop and look for Stacy’s elusive duck man.  Note: Before we went on our trip Stacy did some research on places to eat.  She had found some info about a place in Chinatown that made a great roast duck.  But there was no restaurant name or real location, just a description of the vendor… a little Chinese guy with round glasses ;-)  Well, needless to say this wasn’t a lot to go on.  So we walked and we looked and we walked and we looked some more.  Finally we just found a vendor (not the little Chinese guy with round glasses) with roast duck and ordered a little. Stacy ate a little and I chowed down the rest because the kids, as usual, weren’t eating and I had had enough of Chinatown.  We walked a little, saw a cool temple caught a cab and headed back towards the hotel. Stacy and the kids were still hungry of course.  So we headed back to the little vendor street for another dinner.  We had dim sum, fried noodles, prawns, satay (of course), and a few other plates of food.  And a few Carlsbergs ;-).  And again at the end of dinner Elise decided she had to su su and again I decided to try out the bathrooms of a food stall. I can’t quite paint a vivid enough picture of what was in the back room of this place but Ill give it a shot.

As Elise and I crossed through through the indoor portion of the restaurant we got some knowing looks from the regulars.  It didn’t dawn on me until after I got into the kitchen/dish room/bathroom why they were looking at me funny, little smirks.  I heard the giant stack of dishes in front of us rattle but there was not a human that I could see moving them.  I picked up Elise and stood there for a second.  Then out from under a pan came a mangy rat of decent size.  He jumped down onto the floor and scurried through an open door.  I thought the excitement was over so we proceeded to the bathroom door.  I’ve never seen a dirtier hole than this little back room.  I couldn’t believe that we had just eaten here, kids and all.  There was dirt, food, and stuff that looked like blood everywhere.  As I gawked around at the filth I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye… then right at my feet.  More rats came scurrying out of the dishes and there some more running past me at my feet.  By this time Elise had to pee so bad she was crying.  I hurried to help her by hanging her touche over the toilet.  Meanwhile I could hear the activity behind me and see motion.  I guess the rat family realized I wasn’t a threat and kept on about their business.  I quick whipped up Elises pants and got out of that infested mess.  Two guys laughed as we hurried by and out the door.  I grabbed Stacy and quick paid our bill and left.  Nice.  We went back to the hotel to get some sleep before our next travel day that would bring us to tropical paradise.

Pulau Perhntian Besar (Big Perhentian)-
A quick taxi ride and plane trip got us to North-Eastern Malaysia. We took a taxi from airport to Jetty.  From the jetty we took a fast boat across to the Perhentians.  a small motor boat came out to meet us.  We transferred our big luggage from the big boat to the little boat.  A little precarious throwing 60lb luggage over the side of a boat into essentially a small row boat. But the guests who happened to be in the Mama’s Chalet boat were a big help.  Once on shore we unloaded and checked in.  We immediately threw on our swim suits and hit the beach.  Mama’s place was a nice little stretch of bungalows, a dive shop, and a restaurant.  The scenery was awesome.  Across the small stretch of water was Perhentian Kecil sticking straight our of the aqua marine water.  The sand was white and the water was like a giant bath, super warm and crystal clear.  We sat down on the beach, which despite the great above water looks, wasn’t the greatest for swimming with all of the exposed rough coral.  I was starving so I decided to try out the cooking. I ordered Mei Curry from the “waiter” who looked as if he could care less if I was there or not.  I’d never had Mei curry before, or ever heard of it for that matter, but I was glad I did.  We found out later that the casualness with which I was served was a theme at the resort but it made the meals kind of amusing and since we weren’t in any hurry anyways we just let ourselves be entertained.  Also the rest of our stay was very good and the staff was actually very helpful and accommodating.  Its a little family run place with Ma and Pa and kids and grand kids all pitching in.

But back to the beach  After a quick lunch we took a slow walk down the beach.  The hotel recommended we take a trail to another adjacent beach that was better for swimming.  The wooden path traversing the rocky headland was a bit precarious but we made it and was it ever worth it.  Aqua blue water.. calm, clear, and warm like a bath tub.  Fine white sand and a very gradual slope made swimming easy.  There was also some coral with a lot of fish swimming around.  This is where Preston discovered that he loved snorkeling.  It was pretty much all he wanted to do from then on.  A few hours of snorkeling and a beautiful sunset.  It was dinner time so we headed back and found a place to eat.  On our way we met a family from the Netherlands who were on vacation.  They had a son Preston’s age and a daughter Elise’s age.  One thing led to another and we made plans to go to a different beach teh next day with them.  For dinner it was grilled fish and lobster on the beach… nice.

The next day we headed to Turtle Beach with the Raynes, tha]e family that we had met the evening before.  This is where we spent our day swimming, snorkeling, climbing, and playing with baby sea turtles.  Preston was snorkling in 20ft of water.  He was swimming like a fish!  I was amazed.

We played at that beach for a few hours then headed back to our hut.  Later we ate dinner with the Raynes.  The kids played and took pictures with the people at the table next to us.  The next day we said goodbye to teh Raynes and the island and headed back to the mainland for our long trip home.  Overall the trip was great. Preston also discovered a new love, snorkling.  He was in deep deep water and saw coral and many types of fish.  Elise is now a beach baby and loves playing in teh sand and wearing her swim suit everywhere.  The people everywhere in Singapore and Malaysia were great.  They were extremely friendly and eager to share a little about their people and culture.  Vacations are nice but its good to be “home” now and planning the next trip.