A trip to the jungle

A few weeks ago we took a trip to a place called FRIM.  It is a jungle preserve that includes the mountains that bound KL on one side.  When you climb to the top of the mountain, you can overlook the entire city.  Surprisingly, it is only about 6 miles from our house so we can go there very easily.  Once there, you can take hiking trails through the jungle and up the mountain.  When I was told about this place, no one mentioned that it was a mountain.  I ended up having to carry a backpack and Rachel all the way to the top and all the way to the bottom.  I was exhausted but the kids had a blast.  So far, I think William still believes that the jungle trip is the best trip so far.  Mostly because they were able to get outside and run out in the woods.  I think they were the only kids on the entire mountain.  For some reason, it was only adults climbing. 

When you get to the top, there is a small rope suspension bridge that you can take out over the jungle.  It was scary, but pretty neat.  William was ready to get off immediately, but afterwards said it was fun.  The girls were completely fearless.  Coming down the mountain, you follow a water fall...pretty neat.

The pictures do not do justice to how far in the air we were.  It was from the bridge that you could look out and see the city. 

After the trip to the jungle, we cleaned up and went out for a meal.  This is the night we found a nice German restaraunt and ordered a suckling pig.  I did not know what a suckling pig would be but it sounded good.  Sure enough, they brought out a plate with an entire pig on it, head and everything.  Between the 6 of us, we ate the entire thing!

Kuala Gandah Elephant Park

This weekend, we went to an elephant conservatory so the kids could see and ride some Malaysian elephants.  It is about 1.5 hours away but it is a nice drive.  Even got Kristen to ride the elephant with Rachel, but no luck getting Kristen to let me post the photos.  They let you feed them peanuts.  It was pretty neat to see them work their trunks around to accept peanuts from everyone. 

Trip to Port Dickson

Today we went to see the beach at Port Dickson.  It is about an hour and 15 minute drive (no traffic) from our house.  The kids had never seen a beach before.  On the way, Sarah asked if it was like a swimming pool except with shells.  So needless to say, they did not know what to expect.  It was an overcast day so that kept it from being too hot, however, not too scenic without the pretty blue sky.

After we were done, the kids said it tied their favorite thing to do in Malaysia.  They had a great time walking around and picking up shells.  It was like a big treasure hunt. 

Port Dickson is on the west coast.  They say that you have to go to the east coast to find the pretty blue water, coral, and snorkling.  Unfortunately, we have been advised that we should wait until after monsoon season to go.  This will have to do them for now.

These were taken at an open air seafood restaurant.  We had fresh seafood fried rice, calamari, and shrimp.  It was great.

Butterfly Park

William got a camera for his birthday and I just got a new camera.  So we took the girls to butterfly park hoping to find the things to practice on.  The kids had a blast.  It was really hot.  Evidently just normal KL is not humid enough so they humidified the air inside the park.  It was worth it though.  Butterflies everywhere.  For some reason, they like Sarah.  Rebekah did everything she could to get one to land on her but nothing worked.  Sarah didn't do anything and they would just land on her.  Maybe it was the bright pink shirt.  Maybe more likely that she still had jelly on her from breakfast.

Batu Caves

Batu Caves are located about 6 kilometers from our house.  They are pretty neat caves, but they have been filled with Indian temples.  It is a pretty steep climb to the top.  Rachel only made it half way up but she walked all the way down by herself.  Once you get to the highest part it opens up to the sky for natural lighting.  Very neat looking.  I think I remember seeing pictures of this cave in an old National Geographic when I was little.  The main reason we went was because the kids wanted to see monkeys.  Sure enough, we saw plenty of monkeys walking up to the top.

For $1 that sweaty guy under the tent will cut open a fresh coconut for you to drink.  Since I am the only one that likes fresh coconut, the girls had a Coke.

The picture above is taken at the deepest part of the cave, but it opens up at the top for natural lighting.