Malaysia: That Place In Asia

Novelty frame

This was very, very exciting

I don't know who they were but they were dancing at the wedding

Family portrait

Watching Australia play badly in the World Cup

My dad turns into putty

Babbys

Tea ceremony

OH MY GOD IT"S A GIANT LION

Assam Laksa. NOM.

Daphne showing how it's done Penang

Malaysia was a funny trip. First of all, I didn't know how long I was going to be there for (I bought a 1 way ticket)- all we knew was we were there for a wedding. Secondly, it was a cast of thousands. Not only was there already a whole heap family there already, add 8 others from Australia. As a result, we were "going with the flow"- something which as you get older suddenly feels more and more scary.

The highlights:
:: Being surrounded by lots and lots of family. This includes Daphne being let out of the country (whoo), seeing my super cute nephew Callum, and lots and lots of new babies. I also now have a much better grip on my dads family tree.

:: FOOD. Although later on in the trip I felt physically overwhelmed and sick from constant eating, I can't say I'm not proud. It's true, Malaysian are obsessed with food. Even if you're already eating at the time, every conversation is about food and the next meal.

:: Naps. I'm pretty sure one day Johnny and I had three of them.

:: Staying in a hotel in the city for the first time. This was pretty exciting cause I'd never stayed in the middle of it all before. We were still in bed at a pretty decent hour...

:: Seeing all the traditional Chinese wedding customs and almost having an asthma attack from fireworks.

:: Visiting Melaka for the second time in ten years. I had completely forgotten it. It's positively kitsch and cute. It's fun being a tourist sometimes.

:: Going on a road trip to Penang. This was pretty much an eating tour. It was great being near a beach, but the real highlight was listening to an Auntys story about how there was a ghost was in her bed!! She actually held on to the end of the trip to tell us because she didn't want to scare us! We also went to a spice garden where out guide told us that nutmeg, cinnamon and star anise will kill us. In so many words.

:: Catching the bus to Singapore. I caught an Aeroline coach and it was one of the best travelling experiences EVER. I can't recommend it enough. A return ticket cost about $60AUD and they serve you lunch as well. Every seat had it's own little tv with movies and music you could choose. It was just like a flight except pick-up and drop off points were in convenient locations and there was stuff to look at outside. From beginning to end it was almost exactly 5 hours including a pitstop.

:: Hanging out with Ray in Singapore. Again with the food. One day included eat yum cha, going to have cake and coffee, talking entirely about what to have for dinner, then going to dinner. Singapore itself blew me away. Everything was beautiful and well looked-aftered. You could tell there was thought put into everything unlike you know where (Vietnam).

:: Being ready to come home. I actually missed it. Who would have thought?

*Disclaimer: Because Johnny could only stay 4 days because of work he actually missed out on most of these highlights which sucks. On the upside, how lucky am I to be sent on holiday? At dinner last night we talked about how even though it sometimes it's hard living here and away from everyone, we actually have it really, really good.