Blog

Eye-pad

12/8/2023

I had my second cataract operation yesterday, two years after the first. After 10 hours of tests the day before, the actual operation only took 15 minutes, and 2 hours later they said I could go home! They had initially talked about an overnight stay, so to be home so quickly was a big bonus and hopefully a sign that the operation went very well.

As ever in these situations, Jiajia was a star - taking me from test to test, explaining what I had to do and giving me an arm if I felt dizzy!

My Numan

10/8/2023

Being a huge Gary Numan fan, this Malaysian menu caught me eye!

Sucker

8/8/2023

Inspired by our snorkelling, JD has been adding some random fish to his aquariums - angel fish, neons, suckers, cichlids, shrimp, fantails, puffer fish, oscars and zebra fish!

Mhat?

6/8/2023

There was very little broken English in Malaysia, but I did spot this...

JDless

4/8/2023

JD is having a sleepover at Ma's tonight, so Jiajia and I grabbed the opportunity for a meal out - just the two of us. We had some nice food at a lovely restaurant owned by a customer of Jiajia's. Cue free dessert with our meal!

Split loyalties

2/8/2023

JiaJia, JD and I watched the "China v England" match from the Women's World Cup on TV yesterday evening. JiaJia was technically cheering for the Chinese team, while I cheered for England. JD had torn loyalties until the goals started pouring in! China 1 v England 6.

Dozen seem that long

30/7/2023

Today is our twelfth Wedding Anniversary

Malaysia malaise

28/7/2023

A smooth journey back to Kunming today - taxi/plane/plane/taxi. Missing Malaysia already...!

Crystal clear

27/7/2023

We left Redang Island today by ferry. The two hour journey took us to Terengganu City, passing the gorgeous Crystal Mosque.

We'll stay in Terengganu for a night in a hotel near the airport, to catch our homeward flights tomorrow morning.

Scuba do

26/7/2023

JD was keen to learn how to scuba dive this holiday - something JiaJia and I enjoy doing when we can. So we arranged for a Dive Shop to give him an hour of training. Scuba trainer Aaron gave JD an onshore briefing before practicing "Mask clearing" and "Regulator/BCD management" in the shallows. Then they headed 6m/20ft down to the coral beds to explore while I looked down on them, floating up on the surface. JD loved it and Aaron said JD was "fearless" and a "natural"!

Paradise?

25/7/2023

We took a boat to Long Beach today, around the other side of Redang Island. We'll be staying in Paradise Resort for our last few days here. The hotel is only a little better quality than our last one but the beach is literally outside our room and there's no Mosque to wake us up!

There are also new areas to explore, including a beach full of shells.

Monitoring village life

24/7/2023

We decided to have a rest day today. JD has a dozen nasty bites on his legs and back ("sand flies", the doctor says), while I have gout and sunburned ankles (from a kayaking trip with JD!). So we wandered (hobbled!) into the local village for some "real" Malaysian life.

One thing we weren't expecting was to stumble on five 2.5-meter (8ft) long water monitor lizards! These huge monsters are a common and protected species in East Malaysia. Scared the life out of us at first.

Local Malaysian food is a lot cheaper than the touristy dishes in the hotel. We had three meals and three drinks in a roadside cafe for the same price as one meal in our hotel! Just as tasty, too.

Bar none

23/7/2023

We took a boat-based snorkelling trip today to explore some other areas. On the way back, we stopped at this pretty sand bar for photos!

Mosque annoying

22/7/2023

One annoying aspect of our hotel here is this mosque, some 200m away. I'm all for religious tolerance but the wailing "call to prayer" blaring out over loudspeakers at 6am (and then four more times through the day) does not endear me to the Islamic faith!

It's one reason why we are thinking of moving to a hotel in another part of the island for our last two nights here.

Turtley amazing!

21/7/2023

Well, "Turtle Beach" is just amazing! We swam out from shore to interact with huge (1m/3ft) sea turtles. Or there are closer coral reefs just begging to be snorkelled, with hundreds of fish such as clownfish ("Nemo"), zebrafish, neons, sea cucumbers, parrotfish, angelfish, sea snakes etc. The water is crystal clear and the sand is white. The beach is public, but somewhat out of the way and therefore nearly deserted at times. We had a blast!

No boat, but...

20/7/2023

We flew to Terengganu today. We had planned to jump on a ferry there to our island destination but, on doing more in-country research, we realised that the "3 ferries a day" in our guidebook had now been cut down to one a day - and our flight arrived after it left.

We expected to have to find a local hotel and "waste" a day. But on arrival at the airport, we seized the chance to charter a private speedboat to get us to the island same-day. It was expensive but we had already paid for our hotel on the island, so we went for it and were whisked over in 45 minutes (the ferry takes 2 hours). It was bumpy and splashy, but JD loved it! So were are now in De'Rimba Hotel - a bit basic, but just a 20 minute walk to "Turtle Beach".

Indestructible

19/7/2023

We spent this morning shopping in "Central Market". The shops there are an interesting mix of local crafts, food, clothes, antiques, tourist souvenirs and curiosity shops. In was in one of the latter that I suddenly spotted these two toy vehicles from "Captain Scarlet" - my favourite TV show of the 60s/70s. Sadly, they were far too expensive to purchase (I own painted versions in the UK already). But seriously, what are the chances?

Palace place

18/7/2023

We took an open-topped bus tour today to see the main sights of Kuala Lumpur (without all the energy-sapping walking we've been doing lately). It was good to take in some of the eye-catching buildings in the outskirts of the city, such as the National Palace, National Museum and Merdeka Independence Square.

After lunch, we shopped and then headed back for another evening swim.

Great skates

17/7/2023

We visited Kuala Lumpur's aquarium today. It gave us a taster for our diving later in the holiday, especially the glass tunnel underneath a huge tank of sharks, skates, stingrays and sea turtles.

In the evening, we found the city's night market for some local food. Jiajia was on the lookout for exotic fruit to buy, while JD tracked down some model aircraft as souvenirs of his travel. Once back at our apartment we had a cooling evening swim in our rooftop pool.

Twin towers

16/7/2023

We have rented a great apartment in Kuala Lumpur - two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, shared gym and swimming pool etc. And it is just ten minutes walk from the imposing Petronas Towers.

Plane sailing

15/7/2023

JiaJia, JD and I flew off to Malaysia today for a fortnight's holiday in Kuala Lumpur and Redang Island. The only direct flight from Kunming to KL is with AirAsia - a budget airline. So a cheap and cheerful four hour flight.

JD is something of a plane buff and seemed more excited about the thought of air travel than the holiday itself. We spent most of the journey listening to him regale us with various facts about the Airbus A320!

Family shot

14/7/2023

That's a relief!

12/7/2023

Score!

10/7/2023

JD has been working really hard these last few months. The pressure to do well (from the Chinese education system, and from his very competitive class teacher) has been immense. A typical evening has seen him (and Jiajia) working until 10-11pm to finish his homework. JD's Chinese has always been his weakness. Unlike his classmates, he operates in a world where language is split - whilst his schoolwork and homework is all in Chinese, his home life and entertainment tends to be in English. Tough.

After recent grades in mock Chinese exams of 44% and 65%, we were simply hoping for something over 70% for his final exam. But, to our surprise, he managed to get 84% in Chinese, and then 93% in Maths. Finally, a much needed reward for all his hard work. Well done, son!

Profundal?

8/7/2023

PROFUNDAL: "Living in the part of a thermally stratified lake that extends downward from the upper part of the hypolimnion."!?