Kuala Lumpur

We have had a great time in Kuala Lumpur, it's a fun city with an interesting history and lots of things to see and do. We made the most of our time there seeing the sights, visiting museums, landmarks, galleries, nature parks and sampling local food.
We ticked off a couple more activities on our wedding gift list including lunch at Atmosphere 360. A revolving floor restaurant at the top of the Menara KL Tower. The views over the city were fantastic and the meal was delicious. While we were there we discovered that there was a BASE jumping event going on. It was crazy, people were free falling passed the window while we were eating.
We also went inside the world famous Petronas Towers, we decided to go in the evening to see the city lights at night. It was amazing. We visited KL bird park, it houses the world largest free flying aviary.
We learnt that there is currently a 10 day Hindu festival being celebrated so we visited one of the oldest temples in Malaysia one evening. It was such an interesting experience, all the people were dressed in traditional brightly coloured clothing wearing the most beautiful jewellery and robes. There was singing, dancing and prayer rituals going on and it was fascinating to watch.
Our accommodation in Kuala Lumpur was really cool too. A quirky loft conversion guesthouse which the owner, Willi, houses his collection of vintage memorabilia and antique furniture mixed with contemporary art work. He also had two huge iguana, a huge rabbit and a friendly cat. Very random but we met some great people there and enjoyed our stay.

The Cameron Highlands

Our next stop on the journey through Malaysia  - the Cameron Highlands.
5000ft above sea level in the mountains makes the perfect conditions for tea plantations and we had a great time visiting them. We learnt all about the process of making tea, sampled a few cups, walked through a plantation and took lots of beautiful photographs as I'm sure you will agree..

Taman Negara Pulau Pinang

While on the island of Penang we took the bus from Georgetown to the National Park. The weather was fantastic when we arrived so we decided to take a jungle trek through the park to turtle beach. While walking to the start of the trek we saw a huge water monitor lizard in the sea, in the jungle we saw monkey, various lizards, squirrels and birds. It was tough in the heat but the reward of a deserted beach all to ourselves was worth it. We sat on the beach and watch a local man in a long boat fishing out at sea. After resting there we walked further along the beach to a small turtle sanctuary and were able to hold a baby one. The sanctuary is there to support turtle survival when they are born.
Giant turtles come onto the beach to lay and bury their eggs in the sand. Two to three weeks later, when the mothers have left, the eggs hatch and the babies come to the surface to make their way to the ocean. Being small they are an easy meal for the many sea eagles which soar through the skies of the national park. The team there keep the turtles until they are a few months old and much stronger then release them into the water so the eagles can't get to them. It was a such a interesting visit.

What to do on a rainy day in Georgetown

We had one very rainy day on Penang. It is monsoon session here but to be honest we have been very lucky with the weather. However, this was the perfect opportunity to head to ChinaHouse, a very cool heritage building that houses a bakery, reading room, art gallery, restaurant, cocktail bar and gift shop for a piece of their famous Beach St bakery tiramisu. It was delicious!! It is a very relaxed place where you can read newspapers and even doodle on the tables. We had the most perfect afternoon chatting about everything we have done so far, drawing pictures of our memories, eating cake and drinking ice teas and coffee.

Eating our way through Penang

After speaking to locals in Langkawi we arrived on the island of Penang armed with a list of food we  should try. Penang is renowned all over Asia as the foodie capital of Malaysia. With dishes unique to the island and a wide range of multicultural food. Georgetown, in Penang has a strong colonial history and the food is influenced by the three main cultures that reside there: Malay, Chinese and Indian. Therefore the majority of our time there was spent eating at street stalls and hawker markets.

We tried the most famous dishes: 

Laksa - a fish based broth made from poached, boned mackerel stewed with lemongrass, chillies and tarmarid served with thick rice vermicelli, ginger flower bud, sliced onions, cucumber, lettuce, red chillies, mint leaves and drizzled prawn paste.

Char Koay Teow - flat rice noodles fried in garlic, soy sauce with bean sprouts, egg, chives, prawns and cockles.

Chendul - aromatic herb dyed rice flour noodles, palm sugar, finely shaved ice andred beans soaked in a coconut milk syrup.

As well as these we ate:

Fried oysters, wan tan mee, mee goreng,  ice kacang, various dim sum, Indian sardine samosas as well as milk, ginger and coconut sweet treats.