Another fab Christmas trip

Hanoi

Flying in over a winter brown scene of flat country, seeing beauty in the many small cultivated fields and in the order of the place—tidy, red-roofed villages.

In the Hanoi airport, we notice advertising on the exit doors and find the irony large:  Amway.

It takes nearly an hour to reach the old city; the roads are good. It gives us a chance to see different parts of town, different neighborhoods. Perhaps property is taxed based on the width of buildings because there are lots of skinny buildings, 3 or 4 story ones looking odd with a one story or an empty lot adjacent.

We had only a very short time in VietNam—two nights and a day.  We will certainly want to come back as there is much to see, especially along the coast and in the south.  But son Ben tries to visit two new countries each year (getting harder as he nears 50!) and we aim to please…

in Hanoi. See the wires overhead?

Drum store

Ben trying out a xylophone-y instrument

K and T at Chin Sau restaurant, recommended by a friend. K orders banana flower salad and tries rice wine

Laos
Next stop Luang Prabang, Laos,

where we rendezvous-ed with Cam, albeit a day late thanks to Lao Airlines cancelling his onward flight from Bangkok (he had made New York- Hong Kong via Vancouver, then Hong Kong to Bangkok without incident, but the last few hundred miles proved elusive). Such joy seeing him walk in the door. Together for Christmas--Yay!

Luang Prabang is a UNESCO World Heritage city and exquisitely charming tourist haven.

Lots of temples in Luang Prabang

Tom ready to board

sunset on the Mekong

We did a short Mekong cruise at sunset, and explored several temples in the area.  On Christmas Eve Ben treated the fam to an excellent zipline adventure, fulfilling a dream of K’s.  There were 20 lines in all, four or five of them heart-stopping vertical drops.

ready to fly

vertical drop--yikes!

The lines were in a lush jungle environment near and sometimes over a series of terraced waterfalls. At one point we passed right over some tourists who were riding elephants through the shallow water.

K in flight

 

another temple in Luang Prabang

It was freezing in Laos—unusually so. The upscale hotel where we had chosen to have Christmas took pity on us and bought a space heater for our room.

we wish you a Merry Christmas

After four nights in Luang Prabang we boarded a bus for the long trip to Vientiane—11 hours.  Roads are windy and slow, and there were a number of brief stops, sometimes apparently for the driver to buy fish or vegetables, and at least once to let the engine cool down. The scenery, especially in the north, was lovely though, and the ride fairly comfortable.

Vientiane sight

Vientiane is the capital as is not nearly so atmospheric as Luang Prabang but has a certain appeal. We ventured out to a “Buddha Park” some miles outside of town,

peekaboo

mostly traveling along the banks of the Mekong which separates Laos from Thailand.  The contrast between the two is easy to see, Thailand being far more modern, with a number of multi-storey buildings and evidence of industry, whereas the Lao side of the river had modest wooden houses and tiny shops, along a semi-paved road.

The so-called Buddha Park is a fanciful creation of statues put together by a now-departed local philanthropist. We had fun climbing inside the giant pumpkin (?).

For dinner, we had made reservations well in advance at Makphet Restaurant, excellent food prepared and served by ex-street kids who are being trained in the restaurant business.  It was a great meal and great to know how popular the place is.

itinerant manicure ladies

In the evening we sat by the Mekong River to watch the sun set, and were approached by ladies on bicycles offering manicures

The next morning we left Laos to travel to Penang. There was no direct flight scheduled that day so we took it in two chunks:  Vientiane to Bangkok and Bangkok to Penang. An added complication was a change of airport in Bangkok. 

Cam and Ben were pleased to discover a Dairy Queen in the Vientiane airport.

No matter that it was 6 am; they ordered Blizzards. Honestly.

It was breakfast in Laos, lunch in Thailand and dinner in Malaysia that day.

Malaysia 

We sampled the best of what Penang has to offer in the two short days we had together here: a jungle hike, a glitzy shopping mall, and as much good food as we could manage.

monkeys seen on our jungle walk

favorite primates

Then we were off to Melaka (Malacca) in our aging Kia-wannabe vehicle.  It did well making the 7 hour journey.  We made a stop at our favorite cave temple outside Ipoh.

outside cave temple near Ipoh

New Years Eve in Melaka

in the Cheng Ho museum, Melaka

It was New Year’s Eve in Melaka. We broke out the Cuban cigars we’d purchased in some airport duty free or other earlier in the year, and found a simple café along the river where we were able to see fireworks punctuated by the startled swarms of small birds rousted by the noise.

The next day Ben had an evening flight out, so we made our way to Kuala Lumpur. Cam, Tom and I had one more day in KL, which seems so much less interesting than the other cities we've just visited. 

Sad to see the Camster go...:-(.  Back to the unforgiving med school grind.  

T and I had arranged one more night of hotel, to break up the long drive back to Penang, at a golf resort/nature sanctuary outside of Ipoh.

 It turned out to be a lovely place--peaceful and relaxing. One free activity was included with the room. We had to choose between a fairly well-equipped gym, badminton and tennis courts, an archery lesson, a dip in the infinity pool, or a bucket of balls. Lacking gym or swim gear we chose the balls, which are launched into (and later retrieved from) the lake. 

Following the Gecko Trail (and other news)

Ah, gentle reader, if you thought that title portended some fascinating bit of travelogue or historical insight, you are sadly mistaken.  Alas, it is entirely literal, having to do with where geckos go, and I mean go.   OK, it is a small price to pay for mosquito free premises, and gosh they are kind of cute, and how DO they manage to cling to the wall completely horizontal??  But man do they produce poo. And it’s hard and sticky and requires a stiff brush to remove. They travel along walls and seem to favor corners and tight spots as places to leave their mark--no doubt more than you care to know.

The Ship to Nowhere

up close

Here is a photo of the Ship to Nowhere,  which parks most nights in the bay across from Miami Beach.

we see it from our window

People board it in nearby Georgetown for a one night “cruise” that  offers duty free shopping and an onboard casino.  Guess that’s what “offshore betting” really means.

Update in the fight against mildew

This week two leather items succumbed:   the checkbook cover and a watchband--you just can't leave anything alone unsupervised in a dark spot.

Small Triumphs

T and I climbed Penang Hill a few weeks ago.  There is a paved road (with thankfully little traffic) all the way--5 kilometers straight up.  The near constant 30 degree incline had us hobbling for days after.  

Smarter people go up by tram (see below)

view from the top

Tom is compared to Mark Spitz

 Occasionally he has the condo’s 27 meter  pool all to himself. Here he is from our balcony.

Tom grows a solidarity mustache for November  (and thankfully not a day more)

For a well-meaning international effort to raise awareness of men's health issues, many of the male teachers at the International School of Penang cultivate facial hair for the month of November. 

Field trip fun

T and K chaperoned a group of 10 year olds to Langkawi  Island-- gorgeous place. Four days with 37 kids--it was actually quite fun, jam packed with activities, including my favorite--the “6-D” ride.

on a boat tour

outside the "6-D"--where you get strapped into a seat and buffeted about

kids feeding white bread to an elephant--surely the owner could have found something more nutritious?

PHDs debut

K  has had a good time singing Christmas carols with the International Women's Association choir at various places around town. 

And, in the Incredibly Scary Venture department, she has joined with two other over the hill American ladies to form the Penang Harmony Divas. 

 Their second performance, at the IWA Christmas luncheon at the Eastern & Oriental hotel, included four numbers:  Bye Bye Love, Let it Shine* (think, Let it Snow; lyrics a joint venture by yours truly and Diva Marlene, below). In My Room, and Santa Baby. It is scary but fun.

*Oh the weather outside’s monsooning

Inside we’re happy spooning

There’s no dry place at all

To the mall- to the mall- to the mall

It doesn’t show sign of stopping

But the rain is good for shopping

So let’s go find some bling

Let us sing- let us sing- let us sing

When we finally have to go

How we’ll hate going out in the storm

since the AC is oh so cold

At least once were out we’ll be warm

--------------------------------------------------------

Well it doesn’t show sign of stopping

And this mall is really hopping

But my cash -  is oh so low

I should go, I should go,  I should go.

The sun is slowly setting

And my dear I’m surely betting

That you’d like a nice glass of wine

when we dine, when we dine, when we dine

When we finally have to go

How we’ll hate going out in the storm

since the AC is oh so cold

At least once were out we’ll be warm

Monsoon’s a little frightful

We want our sun delightful

Penang is so divine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

The rain is slowly dying

And my dear we’re still good bye-ing

Tomorrow there will be sun

Think I’ll stay cause Penang’s so much fun.

Ipoh

Stopped over for a night on the way back from Melaka. On the outskirts of town, dramatic karst outcroppings, some harboring cave temples.  We made our way to one of them, called Kek Lok Tong. It took some doing to find it with only scanty directions (your faithful author has since posted directions on Trip Advisor) but was soooo worth the effort.

T outside the cave temple

Kek Lok Tong is a stunning place, both physically and spiritually.

at the back of the cave, which opens onto a garden

At a pond in front, visitors are discouraged from releasing animals in an effort to make merit

meritous koi?

Ipoh is a small city in central Malaysia, about 3 hours' drive to KL.  An area of downtown still has a colonial flavor.  There seemed to be zero tourists here, unlike Melaka.  It's got character but feels a bit gritty. To be fair, we only saw the downtown area and the outskirts, and nothing in between where most of the people probably live.

Ipoh has yummy street food, but of course.

Spore Wars!

Or, Attack of the Killer Mildew

It's an invasion, and we are learning to defend our home. Opened a closet and discovered all the black clothing was mottled with whitish-green and exuding a musty, yucky smell.

well, this was the worst one--stashed away in the happily forgotten bin of Winter Clothes

Ew!!!!

Gradually discovered it was invading on many fronts: drawers, storage bins, cupboards. Even, oh jeez:

It is rainy season, and the surge is on.  We seldom use the AC because temperatures are mild, but  now may have to put them on periodically to help dry the air.  And we are now heavy consumers of the mighty plastic-encased calcium chloride armament:

You lift the lid, peel off a seal, replace the lid and stick them in closets, drawers, etc.  Then you try to remember to keep the closet/drawers shut (Tom!!). They collect moisture, and in as fast as a couple of weeks are full of liquid and need to be replaced. Terrible for the landfill--must look into an electric version.