Island Livin'

We went to Pulau Langkawi last week for a last trip to the beach and it was fabulous. The island is just south of the Thai/Malaysia border and is really beautiful. We stayed at the Sheraton and found that the property was home to lots of amazing wildlife - monkeys, birds, and crabs, just to name a few. We took a walk to explore the resort grounds while our room was getting ready and Tilly took a nap.

Walking along the boardwalk that followed the water. There were stairs that led down to sandy beaches and huge rocks that you could sit on and relax.

Our first night there we ordered pizza to our room and were planning on eating out on the deck. Tilly was on the deck while I went in to get the plates when I heard her let out the worst blood curdling scream. I turned around to see a monkey had jumped up on the railing and scared her to death. I grabbed her and brought her in but it took her a while to calm down and stop crying. Needless to say, we ate our pizza inside. This is the monkey that tried to join us for dinner.

Sunset walk on the beach.

This giant hornbill startled Chris as we walked by. He said he thought it was a monkey.

The rock outcrops created lots of little private beaches. We took over this one for some swimming and sand castle building one day.

There were two different species of monkeys on the property - common macaques and these dusky leaf monkeys. These were our favorites with their white features.

We shared a 'tea tray' in the lobby. I am chewing, but Tilly is really enjoying some whip cream.

The 'cat pool' area had a big chess set that was fun.

Here is a pic of our room. Tilly loved the big bathtub and it had shutters that opened into the rest of the room and onto the deck.

This is proof that we have been out of the US too long. It is Chris's audition shot for Asian Baywatch. Think he has a chance?

We found a coconut on the beach and enjoyed some fresh coconut milk - after working really hard to get it open. Those people on Survivor aren't as dumb as I thought. It is harder than you would think, but worth it. Yum!

Enjoying the view one last time before heading to the airport. It was a great trip to end our travels. Now we are hanging out in KL trying to fit in a few more sights before we leave. Our time here has gone really fast, and we can't believe we'll be home in less than a week!

Monkey Business

We have been busy enjoying the last part of our trip and have not been very good about updating the blog. Chris's brother Jon and his wife Tania were here for Christmas and New Year's and we all had a good time. Above, Tilly is sporting her new backpack and dress. We discovered these huge snails walking home one night. They only come out at night, but are all over the sidewalk. Don't worry, he didn't really eat it.

So, if you know Chris, you know that he can't go long without a good night of karaoke. Luckily, there is a karaoke place right down the street with private rooms. Chris convinced the server, Zoo, to sing with him for a bit.

We got the microphone away from Chris for a few songs...

We were at the karaoke place on New Year's Eve and a little before midnight we heard huge explosions and went outside to find out that a restaurant next door puts on a giant fireworks display. It was ten minutes long and may have even been bigger than the City of Bellingham's 4th of July fireworks. It was cool, because we were standing right below it.

Gary rented a van while Jon and Tania were here and we all drove to Penang, an island about four hours north of KL. One night we had dinner in a huge ship, hence the captain behind Chris's giant beer.

We visited a botanical garden on Penang that is home to lots and lots of monkeys. Tania was getting a good picture of one when the other one came up to her and scratched her leg! Jon ran it off with the umbrella, but it was a little too close.

Tilly was eating an ice cream cone while we rode on a little tram that drove you around a loop of the gardens, but we had to get rid of it really fast when the monkeys started getting too close, trying to get the ice cream. Chris jumped off the tram and ran to the garbage to throw it away with a monkey in hot pursuit.

The monkey even dug it out of the garbage can after he threw it away!

Tilly monkeying around.

There was even a monkey on our van when we got back to the parking lot!

We got a ride on a bicycle rickshaw through the busy streets of Penang. This is us before I realized that our lives were in danger.

Chris thought it was pretty cool.

And Tilly liked them too.

Chris, Tilly and I stayed at a different hotel than everyone else because theirs was booked, and we wanted to stay on the beach. But the beach was filthy and I seriously saw a little kid poop in the pool. So, we hung out at their hotel a lot. They stayed at the Eastern & Oriental, which is a historical building and it was very nice. Here is a cannon on the grounds.

Swimming with Bubba at the E&O hotel pool.

Here is a lady having fish eat the dead skin off her feet. We've seen lots of these places here and in Thailand.

I've got more pics to upload of our recent trip to Langkawi, but it probably won't be today. We're headed to the pool!!