Happenings in Kuantan - Trip to Kuala Lumpur

I have a backlog of pictures and stories to tell and I have finally found a day where I'm free and don't have a headache. So here goes. I know my mum and sister are anxious to see a few pictures of Gaz since he arrived here in Kuantan, so I will now appease their anxiety with a few selections we have taken over the past week.

Gaz's arrival

Here he is arriving at the Kuantan airport

Brothers reunited

Uncle Gaz with his niece, Lauren

Journey to KL

On Saturday morning we journeyed to KL for our District Conference. We stopped for a rest near Temerloh and took a few pictures...

Lauren's such a cutey and was well behaved on the bus journey there and back. She slept for an hour going to KL and for virtually the entire trip back home the following day.

We jumped on the train at Titiwangsa...

The train ride was particularly stimulating for Lauren as she continues learning about all of her surroundings

Upon arriving at the Swiss Inn KL, we proceeded to the reception desk. It was fortunate that we arrived 25 minutes before the check-in time of 2pm because shortly after, a lengthy queue of visiting Indians had materialised behind us. And it was just as well, as the trainee receptionist was pitifully slow in addressing us and processing our reservation.

At length, as we filled out some particulars, we were told that the family room we had specifically reserved was not available to us but had been over-booked! I was very much irritated, as you can imagine, and I pushed our cause, but the reply came that we would be given two rooms at no extra charge. Reluctantly I accepted the change in accommodation and tried to remain positive - until we reached Rooms 506 and 507.

A wave of sore disappointment, akin to mild nausea from a bumpy bus ride, swept through me as we were presented with two tiny rooms, which had been forced upon us contrary to our desires. As a consolation, they were at least neat and clean.

Due to the unwanted situation I inadvertently dried Lauren with a door mat which had been left on the closed toilet lid...it was funny afterwards! We eventually settled down into our room and took some pictures...

Our disappointment is obvious - Lauren epitomised it best!

I love this picture! We decided to do a re-enactment of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac.

Lauren enjoyed wrapping herself in the curtain although the view from the window was a dirty roof and a couple of mouldy walls.

I ironed all our clothes for the meeting at night

Later we took home some fried rice from this restaurant beside our hotel. We ate it in front of the TV as we watched a Nigerian left-back rip his hamstring after shooting narrowly wide of the far post! That was a real laugh for us!

Gaz poses nicely in the restaurant as we waited for our food

Lauren, meanwhile, was a blur as she excitedly bounced all over the bed!

 And what would a trip to KL be without a couple of pictures of the iconic Twin Towers?

District Conference

It was great to meet up with old friends again at District Conference on Sunday. We saw our friends from KL, Ipoh and Melaka. Lauren was a good girl and managed to behave well for the majority of the conference before we had to take her out of the auditorium. I was enthralled by the lights and their reflections on the floor...

Lim Cheng Peng

My good friend, brother Lim, met us up at Wisma MCA after we finished the conference and took us out to The Pavilion shopping mall. We decided to try our luck at a restaurant named Madam Kwan's.

Upon entering we saw an immaculately dressed old lady sitting at a front table with menus in her hand. It turned out that she is the 'Madam Kwan', the owner of the restaurant and was there working amongst her customers.

We were so eager to get tucked into the food that it slipped my mind to take pictures of the dishes we ordered. Anyhow, the grub was delicious and Gaz was proud to have tasted squid! After we finished I asked Madam Kwan if we could take a picture with her and she graciously obliged.

Afterwards we had a saunter around The Pavilion, a mall in the heart of Bukit Bintang.

This balloon transported children slowly up into the air and down again

I mistakenly omitted Gaz from this picture, who was standing on Lim's left...it should have turned out like this...

I love this man. Brother Lim is the best!

There was a nice water feature just outside the mall

Mummy and Lauren look radiant as the sun shines down

Can you spot me, Gaz and Lauren? Look closely!

I was delighted to spend some time with my old friend Lim again.

And to finish off our KL trip, an image of the most recognisable landmarks in Malaysia - the Petronas Twin Towers alongside the KL Tower: