Sun Inns Mentari Bandar Sunway Petaling Jaya

... thought) 25 kilos a piece for our checked luggage (an impossible task).

It had more or less been off to the races since we'd made the decision, and we had tried to squeeze in as much in those last two weeks as possible. We (finally, after over three years!) went to the gorgeous Hanoi Opera House and treated ourselves (for less than $12) to a weekend symphony that was fantastic -- why weren't we doing that all along? We skipped around to a ...

... Being here really makes you appreciate the convieniences of home. On a lighter note, since I was missing home, I decited to go eat at a upper class steak reseraunt accross from the hotel. The food was great and I got a 5 star steak dinner for about 80 ringlets, which is less than 25 US dollars. The restraunt had a train built into the side. I finished up and went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

... she told us it was 452m tall, second highest in the world, and we can look behind. SOOOO beautiful, all lit up at night. Intricate detail and it stretched up high high into the air. WOW!
The people in the tour group are really really lovely - a great balance of couples and singles, men and women, ages and nationalities. I really feel that I can relax and be a little bonkers around these people - we have a competition to takethe ...

... communicated our interests in Cameron Strawberries. To our
disappointment, another vendor not too far away sold the same stuff. Turns
out, there were many vendors in this little area that contributed to the same
jam maker, ice cream maker, fruit drier, etc. It was cool though, as we were
pointed out to other local farms by our Indian hosts later that night. We
walked a little further, and then headed back to get some dinner.
We opted for Indian ...

... Oh I forgot to mention, Malaysia is freakin hot! Hot and humid actually. So my shower was cooling, and I feel asleep immediately after. 1 pillow + 1 sheet + 1 mattress + 3 fans = best sleep of my life!

Surprisingly, I woke up at 7am. I went jogging for a bit around the neighborhood playground. Haha. There were so many old Malaysian people exercising and power walking that early, I was surprised. Came back home, got dressed and went over to ...

... to catch the boat we then went by minibus to Penang and were taken directly to our hostel. We walked the Hertitage Trail in Georgetown and had lunch at the Marina - amazing seafood pizza and some georgous white wine. (Wine is not plentiful in the areas that we have been to so far) Rog had a haircut (in Little India - by an Indian with really long hair!). We also went to Penang Hill and rode on the furnicular railway, at the top is a posh restaurant ...

... trip to and around Malaysia for months, but it got off to a relatively sedate start: a thirteen hour flight to Hong Kong. Ian was lucky enough to be able to snooze for most of the trip, but I've never been able to sleep while flying. I killed time with a Charles Stross paperback (thought-provoking, geeky fun), Woody Allen's "Matchpoint" (excellent), Pacino/Deniro vehicle ...

... this one: prosperity; this one: fertility (I didn't visit that one). It was exciting and spiritual and bizarre, choking on the smoke from the incense, pushing our way through the crowds, the idols glowing in the candlelight. Definitely some of the most fun I've ever had with religion.

Phone call from Brian at 5am this morning. Ride with Chong to airport to say good-bye. Took Fiona to bus station, to return her to Ipoh. Did a little shopping around KL. Bought a magazine (Vogue: so expensive!) Pat and I spent evening "fighting" over who got to read it. Played more backgammon with Kim. We also went jogging in the evening. No one does that here ... at least not yet. Letter home: Man, am I ...

... Excelling and very good for curing fatigue, I was told. The eighth (yes, eighth) course was heralded by bringing a propane tank and cooker into the room. This was set up and a pyrex bowl filled with giant prawns ... and the prawns were still moving. They were soaking in alcohol, absolutely drunk, but still alive. And, still alive, they were placed in boiling water until they went from blue to red. We tore off their heads, de-shelled them, removed their ...