I had to take a 2nd trip back to KK to visit my dad in the hospital. Here a few more photos from that trip.
My good friend from high school asked if I wanted to go hiking. And she said that she's pick me up at 5:30am and I still can't believe I said "yes"! Check out her new car though - what fancy parking camera assistance. A view from the top of the car - how do they do that!??
Okay, wait... we are climbing up where?!
Good thing it didn't rain the night before, otherwise this would be a muddy, slippery slope!
Lots of fern growing around here:
Beautiful sunrise! This is why we wake up at 5am and start hiking at 6am:
Omg, large centipede!!
After about 45 minutes, we have reached the top!
I think it's funny how they call it Puncak Bukit Botak - where Botak translates to "bald". Bald Hill Peak. Ha ha!
Here we are - couple of my friends from high school and the one daughter of my friend to the right:
We decided to take a different route down. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about deer ticks here:
But there are lizards, thankfully just baby ones:
And these grass that stick to your clothes and socks when you brush up against them:
And you have this other one, that's more like a weed than anything else. It's called "semalu", like a shy plant - because it closes when you touch it. It always fascinated us when we were kids. I guess it still does.
I suppose it's also something that our boys have never seen :-)
Here's something else that not very common - porridge and nasi lemak at a McDonald's drive thru menu?!
My friend's daughter opted for some pancakes while us adults opted for some herbal noodle soup. I know, the soup looks dark!
I haven't been along this road in a very long time. This new government office wasn't here before 7 years ago!
This new mosque was, although I can't seem to get a good photo of it with these coconut trees in the way:
See what I mean about those coconut trees? It is a beautiful mosque though:
More food adventures with my sister. Oh, this was the expensive chicken rendang at a fancy restaurant. Sharing made it worth it though:
And there was plenty to share!
And remember that duck restaurant? Well, here's the duck. All de-boned and ready to be wrapped up in a thin Chinese pancake. This was actually Graham's favorite meal during our trip back to KK in July/Aug:
OMG, prawn noodles! So yummy!! And I'm just noticing that there seems to be a lot of eggs in a lot of Malaysian dishes. And can't forget to use that sambal in that little dish as a condiment. YUM...
Here's a random artwork on an older building - pretty neat!
I wonder where else they have these LOVE signs. Bobby and I and the boys took a photo with an exact same one out in Phoenix, Arizona many many years ago!
I know, I know... more cendol!! I think I eat it mostly for the brown sugar :-)
While digging through some old photos at my dad's apartment, I also found a box containing some wedding items my late mom had saved. Including a couple of old telegrams. I've never seen an actual telegram before. So cool!!
And to think I actually bought some of these stamps when my late mom had also saved some of her own. Ha! I guess I got that "nostalgic" gene from her :-D
Okay, no laughing... but yeah, that's me - in my kindergarten uniform. Yup, can't escape those bowl hair cuts. LOL!!
More noodle soup, this one with the local veggie (only found in our homestate!) and also some dried anchovies:
I was meeting up with my high-school friend again and this time at the golf club I grew up at. The buggy/golf cart station actually burned down recently. You can see the scaring on the tree next to what's left of the building:
Still very green on the golf course!
It's too bad I didn't get a chance to play the golf course again. Would have been fun to see how well I'd go along on it, especially after all these years. It would be interesting to get used to some of that odd grass again compared to what's out here in the US:
Ahhh, can't escape Malaysia without eating durian. At least not the case when my sister is around. She really LOVES durian!
There you have it, like golden nuggets. Bob would definitely differ on that one, especially when it comes to the smell. LOL!!
These are also durian, but of a different breed. It's more orange in color and it's more of a "wild" type of durian compared to the yellow ones. It doesn't have as much "meat" and the flavor is completely different! You'll just have to trust me on that one. Ha ha!
And if durian is not enough, there's always loads of fresh made noodles to eat :-)
Okay, just some random photos from on my way back to the US. I've made it a point to keep my feet elevated since my ankles get so swollen during the airplane ride. Plus, I don't leave home without eating a few bags of these dried sweet bananas. He he...
I'm obviously bored at this point. LOL!!
I am still partial to flying the national airline - Malaysia airlines vs. the budget airline:
They've come up with a new paint job for the airplanes! At least new to me:
And omg, even the safety video is now more like a music video!! Here's a very short snippet:
Like,... Wow!!? I wasn't really sure how to feel about this, especially when Malaysia is a pretty "traditional" country.
And then, you have Japan. Lots of Pokémon the minute you arrive into the terminal at Haneda airport. Ha!
Okay, I couldn't help myself but to take a selfie with one Pokémon to show the boys ;-)
I have no idea what the exchange rate is and I'm not really a Starbucks fan but this cup of coffee was excellent! I should have taken a video of all the baristas and employees working behind the counter. It was a noisy spot with all the announcing of all the coffee/tea being made.
One of Graham and Charlie's favorite drink - this one in powder form. Yup, introduced by me since it was like the sports drink when I played golf in Japan. Not sure why they used Sweat in their marketing, but it didn't stop me from drinking it or the boys from buying it either in the US:
Okay, not a necessary purchase but I couldn't help myself. It's a 3-tier food container and once lined up, it's a cat. Too cute!
More waiting, hence more feet-propping on suitcase:
Time for dinner or was it lunch? Japanese curry with rice - another typical Japanese meal. Although, the curry is not like Indian spicy:
Okay, I couldn't help myself but take a photo of this advert. Check out those abs! ;-)
The Japanese souvenir shop is finally open during my hours here at the airport. But it is soooo busy!
Okay, another selfie with another Japanese character :-)
Fascinating origami!!
I'm assuming it's from one piece of paper??!
Okay, I think that's it for my 2nd trip back to Malaysia. I'm just so glad the boys did so well during my 3 weeks away. Actually, there ended up being a 3rd trip in October back to Malaysia, again to see my dad. So obviously still more photos and stories to come soon.
I'm slowly gaining some ground in catching up on my blog posts. Still so many photos and memories to post from the months of October and November. Can't believe it's already December tomorrow!!
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