White Water Rafting Down the Selangor River

Thursday morning we took a bus 1 hour north of KL to a place called Kuala Kubu Bharu for an adventure filled day of white water rafter, abseiling, and zip cording. The best part was that it was for a Shell and FMC team building event for the Prelude project. In other words, we got paid to go white water rafting...definitely beats a day of sitting in the office!

After our day was lined out and our usual safety briefing and equipment distribution, we headed out in groups of 5 with our raft. Me, Kaes, Kelly, Fletcher (our Aussie friend) and a new guy from Houston, Matt, all piled in for the 7 kilometers down the Sungai Selangor (Selangor River)

Kelly and I on the bus ready to roll out

Steven Grant (Shell) and our aussie friend Steven Fletcher

Kaes' boss Lee, Matt, and Chris Felt

The Selangor river boasts grades 1-4 on a scale of rapids. They were quite scary in several places and after our 4 hour journey down the river over rocks, and luckily only capsizing once, we were left pretty exhausted.

Fletcher, Kelly, Kaes, Me, and Matt

And we're off!

Our first big rapid

We made it through that one!

Another one coming up...as you can tell by my face...

Here we go...

Camera guy caught us right before we were overboard...

We weren't so lucky on that one...all of us were thrown out of the both after it capsized

After rafting, the plan was to partake in abseiling and the flying fox. I had a near miss drowning experience, so I opted out of anymore activities for the rest of the day. Kaes stood by and took pictures while Kelly and I cheered the brave souls on.

Kelly and I enjoying a drink after a long day

Down the flying fox

Brave souls getting geared up for abseiling and the flying fox

Our chicken (a.k.a. dinner) being cooked on the "grill"

 Everyone agreed it was a great outing with Shell to continue improving and growing our close relationship with our customer. Not too bad to get paid to go white water rafting...definitely beats sitting behind a desk all day :)

Along the Mekong River – Vientiane, Laos

One thing about Malaysia that I have to admit I love is all the holidays. Another holiday weekend has come and gone (I can’t even keep up with them anymore) and we were fortunate to spend it with a weekend getaway to Vientiane, Laos with Kaes’ parents. The weekend happened to also be their 49th wedding anniversary!

Laos is a small SE Asian country bordered by Cambodia in the south, Thailand to the west, Vietnam to the east, and China to the north.

We stayed at the Salana Boutique Hotel that was in close proximity to all the shops, restaurants, and tourist attractions. The staff at the hotel were warm and friendly and made our stay in Laos very enjoyable.

Our 2 ½ hour flight to Vientiane made for an early morning on Thursday as we left the house at 5:15 am for an hour drive to the airport to make our 7:35 am flight. After checking into our hotel, we headed out to walk around the town in search of something for lunch. The first place we came to was a local restaurant named “3 Sisters.” Our $15 USD lunch for the 4 of us consisted of a spicy papaya salad, Vietnamese style veggie spring rolls, fried noodles and local Lao traditional noodle soup. The meal was fresh, delicious, and most importantly cheap.

After our bellies were full, we ventured to the Buddhist temple across the street from the restaurant called Chan. It was colorfully decorated with the familiar gold, red, and green hues of many Buddhist temples. 

We then wondered down along the Mekong river when it started to rain, so we ducked into a Belgian Beer Café housing over 50 different types of beer and waited until the afternoon shower passed. After a bit more walking, and since we had a very early 4:30 am start, we headed back to the hotel for a nap before finding a place for dinner. Our night ended with a delicious dinner close by at Le Vendome, and excellent French restaurant for a perfectly cooked chateaubriand and red wine.

Friday morning we headed out towards a different direction and stopped first to the Presidential Palace. We were only able to get a street view of the massive residence so we moved along to our next stop, Ho Phra Keow; an old temple built in 1565 that is now the home of the Lao museum of fine art.

Me in front of the Presidential Palace

Us in front of the Lao Museum of Fine Art - Ho Phra Keow

Our next stop was a small Black Stupa (meaning "mound" and the oldest Buddhist religious monument) called ”That Dam”…

The vertical runway is the street where the end brings you to Patuxai meaning "Victory Monument" that closely resembles Paris' Arc de Triomphe but with Buddhist and Lao designs. Across the street from Patuxai was the Prime Minister’s office that was just as grandiose as the Presidential Palace.

Kaes with his parents in front of Patuxai

Prime Minister's Office

The heat and humidity helped us make the decision to go back to the hotel for a late lunch and time to rest before dinner. Dinner ended the evening off at Makphet (meaning "chili" in Lao) run by Peuan Mit, an organization founded by Friends-International that helps urban children and youth, their families and communities to become productive, independent citizens of their country. The food was not only outstanding, but run for a great cause to help the locals.

If you would like more information on how you too can help and/or to donate to this great cause, go to http://www.friends-international.org/supportus/

Entrance to Makphet

A full day of walking called for a relaxing $6 USD/hour foot massage at a quaint but lovely beauty salon down from our hotel to end the evening.

It was now Saturday morning and our last day in Vientiane. We were brave enough to take a tuk-tuk out a few kms from town to see Pha That Luang meaning "Great Stupa", and Laying Buddha. It amazes me the level of intricate hand painting detail that some of the temples possess. I was also able to pick up my usual souvenirs (a magnet each country we visit) and a few other smaller items. On our way back we stopped at Sisaket, the oldest temple in Laos before having lunch at “That Dam Wine House” ; a $20 bargain for all of us to indulge on freshly made sandwiches, wine and home made ice cream for dessert.

Pha That Luang - "Great Stupa"  Regarded as the most important national monument in Laos and a national symbol

Kaes and his parents in front of Lying Buddha

Underneath of the Buddhist temple Wat Ong Teu Mahawihan 

Lunch at "That Dam Wine House"

Naga or mythical water serpent, that serves as the guardian of the entrance to a temple

After an afternoon nap, we walked down the street to watch the sunset over the Mekong River and walk through the weekend night market where we purchased a local Lao painting of Buddhist monks. Children played and families sat along the river bank to watch the glowing hues in the picturesque sunset.

Sunset over the Mekong River

We ended our last night with dinner at a trendy restaurant called Sticky Fingers, started by an Aussie, that had an expansive menu of delicious Western options.

Kaes and I always enjoy visiting new places and Laos was another SE Asian country we loved learning the culture, tasting delectable food, and appreciating all of the warm, smiling faces.

Happy 49^th Anniversary Norma and Dirk - we wish you many more wonderful years together!!! 

Link to all of our trip pictures on my Facebook page here.

Cameron Highlands - Tea Plantations & Strawberry Farms

Kaes, myself, and his parents drove 200 kms north to a place called Cameron Highlands last weekend. It took us about 4 hours to get there; 1.5 hours of it climbing in the car going 20 mph up the side of the mountain.... 

We stayed just one night at a place called Strawberry Park Resort that had an English Tudor feel to it and was perched high on a hill looking out at the dense forests surrounding the hotel.

Cameron Highlands is known for their tea plantations, honey bee farms, and strawberry farm that  are very pretty to see. The high altitude in the mountains had rainforest weather and was quite a bit cooler than what we were used to in the city of KL. 

We visited local markets, tasted local steamboat (soup with fresh vegetables and meat that you cook yourself), stopped at the BOH tea plantation, toured the town of Tanah Rata, and even got relaxing foot massages!

A few pictures of our weekend getaway are below.

Waterfall up the side of the mountain

Small cacti at a local market in Tanah Rata

Small plants at a local market in Tanah Rata

Local street market in Tanah Rata

Local street market in Tanah Rata - Rotisserie chicken Malaysian style :)

Rainforest in Cameron Highlands

Rainforest in Cameron Highlands

Acres of tea plantations in Cameron Highlands

Acres of tea plantations in Cameron Highlands

Beautiful view of the tea plantations in Cameron Highlands

Norma, Dirk and myself in front of the tea plantation - Cameron Highlands

It was a nice, relaxing getaway for the weekend with beautiful views and cool weather! 

Weekend Away to Phuket, Thailand

Kaes and I surprised Mom with a trip to Phuket, Thailand as a birthday present. I was so excited to see her face and she was thrilled that we were going. Phuket is one of our favorite places with great beaches, cheap food, and overall relaxation. 

Thursday after a half day of work, we flew the 1 hour plane flight via Air Asia to Phuket. We arrived around 6:45 and then had a 40 minute car ride to the main town and beaches. 


We stayed in a luxurious villa called Baan Pan Yaah Kalim that was on the pristine Patong Bay, not far from Patong Beach and the bustling town lined with restaurants, bars, and shops. It had a gorgeous view of the bay and beaches from the top master suite and we could hear the waves crashing against the rocks as we went to sleep at night. The other king sized room had a view of our private jacuzzi as well as the water.

View of Patong Bay from our balcony

Bay from our private beach

Patio outside of master suite overlooking the bay

Our private jacuzzi

Inside of the villa - living room, dining and kitchen

Cold Singha beer in the jacuzzi

  

We walked into town, ate the fresh local Thai coconuts and relaxed on the beach. It was everything we wanted to do and more!!!

Tuk Tuk with local veggies and homemade banana pancakes

Beautiful sunset over Patong Bay

Overall, we had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. I was so thankful that Mom was able to join us for a getaway vacation out of the hustle and bustle of KL. We cannot wait to go back soon for another visit!