Hong Kong: Parks and Recreation

After the constant heat and humidity of Malaysia, it was wonderful to spend some cool-weather outdoor time at Kowloon Park. It's an oasis of green amongst the towering skyscrapers and was filled with locals of all ages, from young kids releasing energy to elderly couples relaxing on benches. We ran around the maze garden reenacting Pac-Man, frolicked on the playground equipment, and watched flamingoes standing quietly in their pond. With a little arm twisting, the kids convinced me that we required an afternoon snack from the McDonald's McFlurry and Milkshake stand in the middle of the park.

As part of our mission to visit every science museum in the world, we naturally spent some recreational time at the Hong Kong Science Museum. My favorite exhibit was "Food Science Now" where they tried to convince me that Salted Calamari Guts plus Fresh Cream had the same salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami flavor profile as Shortcakes. I don't believe them, and I have no plans to test it on my own. The Hall of Mirrors was a big hit with the kids, too.

Are you up to the challenge?

Flying in the face of opposition from the kiddo contingent, we also visited the Hong Kong Museum of History which is located across the plaza from the Science Museum. I especially liked the exhibit on the Imperial Exam System of the Qing Dynasty. Passing the test was a person's key to a government job and upward social mobility. The stakes were so high that numerous people resorted to cheating. I kind of felt sorry for Hua Gongfu, age 26, from Jiangnan province. Centuries after he tried to dupe officials, he is still being publicly shamed for hiding answers in his crotch lining. Others snuck in answers in hat tassels and broom handles. How did that work? "Oh this broom here? Ummm...I was just planning on doing some... uhhh... light sweeping between test questions."

The rest of the museum focused on the broader history of Hong Kong and included wonderful displays such as walk through replicas of prewar shops and offices. After reading all the info, I thought I could definitely pass a Hong Kong history test (without resorting to cheating).

My two little scholars

Kuala Lumpur: Hit and Miss

We had a long holiday weekend at the end of November. The kids had Friday off for American Thanksgiving but not Thursday. Hubby had Monday off for Islamic New Year which was actually on Sunday. Got all of that straight? Notice that the off days don't actually line up.

Anyways... we decided that this would be a good time to explore Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Because it's a 4 hour drive from Penang, and the airfare was so cheap – US$60 per person roundtrip – I decided that flying was the way to go. The day before we left, I realized that the airport is actually one hour outside of town. Then, our one hour flight was delayed by almost two hours. It ended up taking us 6.5 hours from the time we left home to our arrival at the hotel. Next time, I think we'll drive. The up side is that we can honestly say our return trip involved a buggy (think stretch golf cart), a taxi, a train, a bus, a plane, and a car.

The other big mistake was trying to visit the Petrosains Discovery Centre on a public holiday. I do believe we're on an unofficial mission to visit every interactive Science Museum in the world. Penang has zero kiddie, hands-on museums, so we were really looking forward to this. I mean really, REALLY, looking forward to it. We were met with a massive throng of uniformed school children on a field trip. Add in all the other tourists who were also there for the long weekend. The museum dude looked at me like I was crazy for not making a reservation. He told us we could have tickets to enter in a couple hours, but that would have left us about 45 minutes to explore before leaving for the airport.

So, we instead ended up in a nice, nearby bookstore, Kinokuniya. It was the best bookstore I've visited in Malaysia, but it's no science museum. Air Asia limits carry-on luggage to one piece each weighing no more than 14 pounds (crazy, right?), so I had to figure out what alchemy was needed to magically make all our new purchases much lighter.

Luckily, the good outweighed the bad on the trip. For starters, we had an awesomely amazing room at the Traders Hotel. Check out the night time view.

At 1482 feet, the Petronas Towers are the 3rd tallest buildings in the world.

A ginormous (who invented that word) park spread out before us. It had dream jogging paths, multiple playgrounds, a huge wading pool, and a Water Symphony Lake with programmed fountains. The Aquarium was right next door, and a magnificent mall, Suria KLCC, connected to the complex.

The room itself was nice and big, and the kids were in the connecting room. The rooftop pool had both a hot tub and warm tub nestled in a lily pond and surrounded by the ultra-swanky Sky Bar. The hotel also had one of the best breakfast buffets I've seen. A visitor could really get a taste of Malaysia here since all the major cuisines were represented with Indian roti canai, Nyonya cakes, Chinese dim sum, and Malaysian curries. Of course, they offered western dishes like a lovely cheese plate, frittatas, croissants, fruit and yogurt.  The fresh squeezed juice stand had about 8 different pitchers of juices – apple, pineapple, kiwi, orange, starfruit, etc. – you could mix together as you wished. There was even a Gluten-free corner.

Customized Noodle Soup station

We noticed a few burka-clad women in line, but we didn't see them in the dining room. How exactly does a gal in a burka eat if she can't take it off in public?

The younger kiddos and I had fun exploring the Aquarium next door. It was small but very well done. Maria liked sticking her head in the bubble that popped up in the middle of the otter habitat. Brad lingered on the travelator that tunneled through the large tank surrounded by sharks, stingrays, and other aquatic life.

On our only full day in Kuala Lumpur, we hit Batu Caves which is so wondrous it gets its own post and the National Museum which covers Malaysia's history from prehistoric times, through European colonization, up to its independence.

Gilded throne – Doesn't it look comfy?

Upin and Ipin is a popular kids TV show in Malaysia.

We wrapped up the day at Ben's, a tasty East-meets-West fusion restaurant that channels the vibe of a Manhattan townhouse. (Not that I've ever been in a Manhattan townhouse.) The kids were able to order "normal" food like Spaghetti Bolognese whereas I opted for the Asian-style Duck Confit Salad with pomelo, cucumber, lychee and pineapple ensconced in an endive resting on a banana leaf and garnished with peanuts.

Interesting and good

I was so stuffed I didn't have room to try out what looked like a killer bakery case. As a nice touch, each table had a box of conversation cards to help tech savvy diners separate from their phones and have a face-to-face dialogue.

"Give your fingers a rest. Stop texting and tell me your deepest secrets."

Singapore Sights: Part 1

I first visited Singapore in 1997 when my dad was working there as an expat. It was my first trip to Asia, and everything seemed so exotic and different. When the kids' school had a mid-semester break last month, I couldn't wait to take them there and show them around. After living in Malaysia for a few months, my first thought upon arriving in Singapore was how much it reminded me of America. I guess it's all relative.

The Republic of Singapore is an itty-bitty city-state at the tip of the Malay peninsula. Like Penang, it was controlled by the British as part of the Straits Settlements for over a century. After gaining independence from the British, it was briefly part of Malaysia before breaking off in 1965. What a difference a few decades has made! Singapore is like the over-achieving sibling to Malaysia. They share the same heritage, but Singapore has clearly pushed itself to succeed.

Whereas Penang has a laid-back island charm, it's also a bit on the rustic side. Singapore is a glittering, big, modern city. All the signs are in English, and it's a model of efficiency. If Disney were to design a country, they would have ended up with Singapore. The mass transit system, both the subways and the buses, were easy to use and clean. After all, this is a country where chewing gum is illegal and a person can be fined for not flushing a public toilet. (I'm totally in support for that second one.)

At the airport - Good to know

Our first stop in Singapore was the amazing Science Centre Singapore where we met up with some school friends from Austin who moved here last summer. Brad and his buddy spent their last few months in America plotting to get together in Asia. I honestly think that having a friend who was also moving overseas immensely helped Brad make the transition.

This hands-on museum is huge and world-class. I really liked the Fire Tornado.

3pm performance right next to the Snack Bar,
perfect for luring in hungry patrons

Afterwards, we went back to our friends' house for dinner. Once again, it struck me how different the expat experience is between the two countries. When I asked the now stay-at-home mom what she was doing with her spare time, she replied that she's working her way through the Joy of Cooking. I was flabbergasted since it seems that I have a really hard time in Penang finding "normal" ingredients I need. She said that in Singapore, you can get almost anything as long as you don't care how much you pay. Also, they were Trick-or-Treating in a BIG way (about 1000 visitors expected to pass by their house), whereas I was still trying to figure out how to put together a little something for our Halloween in Penang.

We hit the Night Safari after dinner. This is the one thing that I loved the most from my last visit, and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting Singapore. Unlike the zoo visit in Taiping, I did not fall asleep on this tram ride. Seeing the nocturnal animals striding around was interesting, and the guide's informative and hilarious commentary kept the kids enthralled.

The next morning, we made our way to the Jurong Bird Park. The kids were immediately drawn to the penguin house, primarily because it was air-conditioned. After wrestling them out into the heat and humidity, we walked over to the 9-story-high Lorikeet Aviary. For a few dollars, you could buy a cup of liquid food and feed the birds yourself. Maria figures that the family fed almost 40 birds while we were strolling up and down the stairs and elevated walkways.

Polly does NOT want a cracker. She's on a liquid diet.

Next up was Sentosa Island where we rode the luge and chairlift. This is another must-do when visiting Singapore. When he first saw it, Brad exclaimed, "It's like Mario Kart!" Maria must have agreed because she was quite displeased that I wouldn't let her guide the luge up on the side walls of the track.

The upper portion of the track was much wider and without a lane divider.

As darkness fell, we left the island with the Merlion guiding the way. Half-fish, half-lion, the Merlion is one of the symbols of Singapore.

We ended the day at Food Republic. To bring up the Disney comparison once again, if Singapore had its own pavillion in EPCOT, Food Republic would be what the Imagineers would design. Based on the old-fashioned street food hawker centers that are all over Malaysia, this food court elevated it to new heights. I could still get a variety of Indian, Straits Chinese and Malay foods at the different stalls, but everything was so much cleaner and more sanitary than what I'm accustomed to in Penang. Plus, it was beautifully decorated.

Notice the handwash station in the bottom right corner.

Stay tuned for Part 2: Universal Studios and more good eats