Anniversary trip to.....er Kuala Lumpur?

It all started by wanting a nice anniversary trip to Vietnam. Tickets were cheap! We booked and headed out to celebrate 14 years of marriage... We flew out on Sept. 11. on Malaysia Air. My heart was a bit worried. We landed in Vietnam with all the hopes in the world (we had survived the flights!) Only to be turned away by the visa office!!! After arguing for 30 mins. Begging, pleading, smiling, nodding, frowning, shaking our heads and trying every conceivable mode of communication, we were turned away and shuttled onto a plane that was bound for Kuala Lumpur (Capital of Malaysia).  So we opted to lay over and spend out anniversary in a city only an hour flight from Singapore and a place, in all honesty, I had no intention of really ever going. It's hard to get to every place in Southeast Asia when you have only so many years and dollars. You have to pick and choose. So hopefully we will make it back to Hanoi and get to go a bit farther than the immigration gates. But without further ado... we give you KL!

After 7 hours of flying we were ready to find ourselves a hotel. We booked online while waiting in line at the airport to secure our flights home. We found a hotel with a big fluffy king sized bed. My only criteria for any trip anywhere. We enjoyed our first day walking around town. One of my favourite things about Asia... motorbikes:

We wanted to hit the Petronus Towers the first day but tickets were all out. We enjoyed a daytime walk around the area.

And then ended up across the street at the SkyBar to enjoy the full view of the (now) tallest twin towers in the world.

 Next day we hit the Batu Caves. Lots of sights and sounds to accompany us.

Inside was amazing! A huge cave with this little Hindu Temple in an open clearing.

Hmmmm,why can't we exercise??? Well, it doesn't matter. Considering my sedentary state as of late, just one trip up to see the temple was enough exercise for me.

This is something I can get behind... No real need for words, I think.

At the top of the first set of stairs they were filming a Bollywood movie. Our driver informed us that the guy is the director and actor and the girl is an up and coming Bollywood star. It seems correct since there were so many people asking to take photos with her. She was very kind to oblige everyone. 

A little array of offering trays for their movie wedding. It was just too pretty to pass up.

The biggest Hindu statue I have seen so far in my time here. I've seen enormous gold Buddhas, but never Murugan. We got a little bit of schooling in Hinduism from our driver. I never tire of finding out the ins and outs of other religions. This one is just so fascinating to me.

Monkeys were happy to terrorise everyone and eat any food in sight. As you walked up the endless stairs there was always a scream or a gasp from someone who had been jumped on by a monkey looking for a bite. One couple was cornered by a monkey bearing his teeth. They finally threw out a Pepsi bottle from their bag which he dutifully tried to open as they ran away.

Patrick's favourite spot... snacks, snacks, snacks!

Later that day we hit China Town.

Basically its the same as China Town in Singapore. Flashy, cheap (ish) shopping and lots of tourists. We didn't last long. We had a little list of things for the kids. Sports watches and soccer jerseys which we actually got fixed with the right soccer players name. Just in time for a birthday this next week. That was the biggest score for us. We will take any small victory we can to help us feel like awesome parents. And if I can't discipline the right way, at least I can find the perfect birthday present, right?

After eating in China Town we hopped over to Little India. Full of signs and sounds and even better food.

 So of course we ate again...

Last day we finally made it to the Petronus Towers. They are pretty spectacular.

It was a beautiful night to enjoy together. We had a nice and relaxing time in KL, even if it was a surprise visit. Thanks for having us!

There are days it's hard to believe we have been together for so long (especially if you add 4 years of dating to the total). I know most married people feel the time warp and wonder what happened to all those years. We have spent more hours than we would like to admit, staring into the mirror checking out each others wrinkles and grey hairs. We are definitely getting old! It's an odd thing, but I am so grateful to have Patrick as my partner in crime. God must have known what He was doing all those years ago when He prompted me to head to Snow College and placed this motorcycle riding, Grateful Dead listening hippie into my life.  I have loved him every day since. This life of our has been an amazing ride and I am grateful to have him by my side. Happy Anniversary my love! KL wouldn't have totally sucked without you :)