An overview of our October Holiday

Jamming on air guitars outside Hard Rock Cafe Singapore

Millie & Eliza in the lobby of the Regent Hotel in Singapore

(photo taken from the 4th floor)

Old buildings in KL's Little India Dist.

Toothless Eliza and her cheeky little sis

@ Carcosa Seri Negra, KL

Bea using her pink Fisher Price digital camera

The Johnsons in KLCC under the Petronas Towers

Some of KL's Islamic inspired buildings

Our Three Monkeys and a Lemur @ the Singapore Zoo

Petronas Towers @ Night, KL

Millie with a pink Indo Pacific dolphin, Singapore

Written last week in Singapore: Thursday, October 2, 2008

It's a balmy, humid night on the tip of contential Asia. We enjoyed a full day today, which began with a trek to Sentosa island where Millie and Eliza swam with pink Indo Pacific humpback dolphins. We then toured the related facility, Singapore's Underwater World where by Eliza's count, she touched stingrays 32 times, a shark's tail twice, and petted an archer fish's tail once-- pretty full day considering the marine mammal encounter this morning!

Tomorrow holds a trip to the world renowned Singapore Zoo and a late afternoon trip to the Botanical gardens. Yesterday was our transit day from KL, and we managed to squeeze in burgers @ Hard Rock Singapore, just down from where we are staying @ the Regent Singapore a Four Seasons Hotel and toured the Asian Civilizations Museum.

KL proved an amazing experience too! Although we admire the clean streets and well oiled perfection of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur offered such an amazing array of cultural diversity, history and cuisine, that we may end up claiming it as our favorite Asian city thus far! The final days of Ramadhan proved an eventful time in the city of an officially Muslim nation. The streets came alive after dark as Muslims sought out tasty and hardy food to break their daily fast. We watched in fascination as they collected their food from food hawkers in Little India, and then sat with piping hot food growing cold until the sun completely dipped for the evening. Only the did they begin to eat. All restaurants seemed to be offering Ramadhan specials... even Dunkin Donuts had a promotion!

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental at the foot of the Petronas Towers. The sky bridge, usually open to the public was closed in honor of Hari Raya, the festival of fast breaking after the month long Ramadhan. We still found plenty to do in the lush KL city center park, the adjacent shopping mall, trips to Little India (which provided us with great roti from the food stalls, and the girls are now set with traditional Indian suits. We strutted around with lays made of Jasmine, typically worn after Hindu prayers are said, but worn by these unknowing Westerners who recognized at once their benefit to combat negative smells.) In China Town we practiced our Mandarin. We proudly navigated the MRT system and took walking tours of historic buildings, built in the melded styles of Islamic (Moorish), traditional Malay and British colonial styles. In true British fashion we had afternoon tea (twice) and enjoyed the eclectic mix of Chinese, Indian, and indigenous Malay culture in the fascinating English speaking city of Kuala Lumpur.

Eliza lost her third baby tooth in Malaysia, meaning that she has collected three currencies to date from the tooth fairy: US dollar, Malay ringgit, and Chinese ren min bi!

Saturday morning early we will leave the opulent, non-smoking world of Singapore where every family seems to tote a Filipino or Indonesian domestic helper along with their designer clad children, where grocery stores seem to stock everything but Chinese milk products and bi-products, and where all vehicles are right hand drive, and correct side of the road is the left. We will return to a country where every third person smokes, where milk is continuing to turn up with traces of kidney ailing melamine and the side of the road to drive on is completely optional! We had an absolutely wonderful time away, and we are equally looking forward to jumping back into the adventure we call life in China!

with love from the Johnsons in Asia!