Home Thoughts From Abroad

We are a long way from home and it is not very often that our Canadian friends come by this way. It was especially sweet to have Al and Shelley come and stay with us for ten days. Al has been in here before with his work but it was Shelley’s first visit to Asia. November is in the dead of the monsoon season so a bit of a risky time to come. It had been a pretty dry couple of weeks and we were beginning to wonder if they would even get to experience the amazing monsoon rains which we actually love. We needn’t have worried!

For the first few days Steve was working so we didn’t go too far afield. I took them on a city tour on Thursday and then we met up with Steve at the end of the day for dinner at KLCC and then an evening at our favourite spot for watching the Twin Towers light and the dancing fountains; the Skybar at the Traders Hotel. Friday we hung around locally, spending the morning at the pool and then touring the university before coming home for dinner and a evening just chatting with friends; a rare treat for us.

On Saturday we made the climb up to Batu Caves on our way out to take the cable car up to Genting Highlands. There is not really much to see up there but we will never tire of the 4.38 Km ride over the rainforest. It was a beautiful day, sunny and bright at the top. Spent about three hours visiting over a great multi-country buffet. Sunday we went to church and did some shopping then came home to pack for a trip to Redang Island early the next morning.

We were up and ready for an early flight to Kuala Terengganu when we saw the first warning signs of heavy rain. We took off in the rain and as we came in for landing in KT the rains were torrential. We waded into the airport only to learn that the ferry to the island had been cancelled due to weather. However very helpful hotel staff met us at the airport and took us to their lounge while they arranged for a fast boat to take us to the hotel. We agreed to it because it really had to get better, right?

Even getting to the jetty was a challenge because the roads were pretty much flooded the whole way. The “fast boat” was open but covered by a canopy and they graciously provided us with rain gear while we bounced through eight to ten foot waves in the pouring rain. We took a few hard hits when the boat crested waves and then crashed into the troughs. We were happy to see the helpful hotel staff at the jetty with warm towels and a dry van. Took some negotiations and an upgrade to get settled into our lovely hotel rooms just steps from the beach. Just waited for the sun to come out after the rains. But that never happened!