Malaysia in one post

I'm suffering horribly from jet lag! We got back on Saturday morning at midnight and I've had trouble sleeping on a normal schedule. I try to go to sleep at my normal time and I manage sleep a couple hours, but I spend most of the night tossing and turning and don't get back to sleep until about 6. Only then do I get my real quality sleep, as it is about 9 pm in Malaysia at that time. Hopefully I can overcome this soon.

So that is my excuse for taking so long to upload pictures from our trip and for writing a blog post about it. I swear I've been a zombie lately!

We left for Kuala Lampur on the night of December 20. From Tucson we flew to LAX and from there to Taipei and Kuala Lampur. LAX's international terminal was a nightmare! The lines were so long you couldn't tell where one began and one ended. We waited an hour at the check in counter and another at the security line, all the while silently thanking the extremely helpful woman who checked us in at the Tucson airport. You see, we bought two separate tickets, as it was cheaper that way. One ticket from Tucson to LA and another from LA to KL. We would have to collect our bags in LA and recheck them. It would have been another hour to do that, since there was a separate line for that after you were done at the check-in counter. This angel of a women checked our bags all the way through to KL. Now that's what I call Christmas spirit!

Our trip was uneventful and the 14.5 hr flight to Taipei wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. This is coming from somebody who is pulling her hair out at the end of a 3 hour flight (seriously....I would rather drive 10 times as long than fly that long). I'm really a sucker for sunrises and saw one of the most beautiful ones from the plane. I made Jon take a picture.

From Taipei it was a 4.5 hour flight to KL.

Jon and I adjusted to the new time zone relatively easily. KL is 15 hours ahead of Tucson time. The trip went by really fast!

My in-law's condo had the most amazing view of KL. Look at all the cranes...there is crazy construction constantly being done.

We went to a market with the most amazing fruit

We celebrated Hanukkah with our niece Matilda

We witnessed some of the most amazing Christmas displays in the local malls and hotels

We had the best breakfast at one of aforementioned hotels. Here's Matilda modeling her new dress and backpack she got for Christmas. She's such a doll!

We saw what used to be the tallest buildings in the world and what are now the tallest double towers in the world, the Petronas Twin Towers at KLCC

I wish we could have gone up to the podium, but they only give a limited amount of tickets and you had to stand in line at 6 am to ensure you got any. Nothankyou, not on my vacation!

We visited the port town of Melaka where we didn't visit any of the historical tourist attractions. Instead, we went to their Chinatown for some shopping. It's a running joke in the family how my FIL plans his trips around shopping malls and now, local Chinatowns. At least we saw some beautiful rickshaws! Makes for a good picture

We visited  Pulau Penang where we stayed in the most beautiful hotel, The Eastern and Oriental Hotel, which was founded in 1885. I heart the stained glass windows on the doors to the bathroom and I'm now a huge fan of black and white bathrooms! The hotel still has the original lift, although it is out of commission now. So many famous people have stayed here throughout the years, including Tony Blair, Charlie Chaplin, and Rudyard Kipling.

Jon loved the bathrobe and slippers

While there, we shopped at the night market in Batu Ferringhi. Check out the link, as I have no pictures of that. We even at on that ship that advertises "The Best Steak in Town".

We also visited the beautiful botanical gardens where we saw monkeys! There were tons of them, jumping all over the cars in the parking lot, carrying their babies around, grooming each other, and following the humans around because they know we carry food. Carrying any food is strictly advised against, as is carrying plastic bags because the smart monkeys know we keep food in there! I even got attacked by ornery little guy--he just swatted my foot, nothing more.

And here's a picture of me just to prove I was there, since I was usually behind the camera this whole trip. Man, I really need to get back on an exercise regimen

We went up to the Genting Highlands one day. It was a must-see for Jon after it was featured on one of the shows on the Travel Channel. It boasted casinos, a theme park, and a snow land for Christmas. Unfortunately, it was a flop. After over an hour of driving, half of that on a 10% or more incline amongst crazy Malaysian drivers, we were ultimately disappointed. It was pouring the whole time, the whole place was kind of run down, and it was just an absolute zoo full of locals and tourists. Nevertheless, I had to take a picture to document the experience. That's Jon and his brother Chris with his wife, Josie, and Matilda looking away from the camera

We even got to fit in a little karaoke. Chris really got into it and got one of the employees to sing with him

Jon liked to hog both mikes

It was a great trip. It ended too soon. I was really enjoying the weather: in the 80s and humid, but not too humid. Just enough for my skin to glow and not require so much lotion. I enjoyed walking around in shorts and dresses with flip flops, being able to take cold showers and feel refreshed. Now it's back to the land of dryness and itchiness. Nevertheless, it's still good to be home.