Travel Whip Lash

Julia & Brian left a week ago today - wah! It has literally taken me every day of this past week to recuperate! I think I might have overdone it a tad especially at over 8 months prego - and I also got a cold along the way but am feeling much better now & getting lots of rest.

It was hard to pick just a few photos to post so if you are interested in seeing more you can go to:

http://photobucket.com/heatherbali

password: kualalumpur

Bali is more beautiful & diverse than any place I have ever been. We only visited 2 towns & now I cannot wait to go back & explore more!

Our travels took us to Kuala Lumpur where we visited the Batu Caves (http://www.malaysiasite.nl/batucaveseng.htm) a sacred place for Malaysian Hindus, China Town for shopping/bartering, the Petronas Towers & then dinner.

Dinner in Kuala Lumpur

The Batu Caves
Petronas Towers

The next morning we flew out of KL & to Bali where we stayed 2 night on the Sanur Beach at the Puri Santrian Beach Resort. We had no idea it would be so peaceful & cheap! It made Mexico look expensive. We chilled the first day & took a boat with just us out the second day for snorkeling & a visit to Turtle Island. The fish were spectacular & the animals at turtle island seemed to be treated very nicely - which made me happy of course.

Beach at our hotel

Kenny at Turtle Island

Our beach

Hindu God statue at our hotel

After 2 days at the beach we took a van ride about 45 minutes into the hills to a town called Ubud where we spent the next 2 nights. We stayed at the Tjampuhan Resort & shopped, ate, walked, visited the spa & pool and chilled out some more. The resort was built into the hills which made for fantastic scenery but lots & lots of stairs. Luckily my friends were great at helping me around & making sure I didn't fall or slip! We also took a taxi ride out to the rice fields & were amazed by it's beauty.

Rice Field & Hindu statue with offering

We got back to Miri from Bali on Friday & left Saturday morning to hit Brunei & the Empire Resort. We didn't bring the right camera lense for that portion of the trip - oops. We got back to Miri on Sunday & then Tuesday took a boat ride down the Miri River - lots of water type shanty housing there & passed many locals with their daily fishing finds.

Julia & I are already talking about when we can go back to Bali - :) :) :)

Baby Update

We went to see Dr. Mattu on Friday last week & learned that the baby is still breech. Then the ultrasound showed that the umbilical cord is wrapped twice around the neck so....instant decision for surgery birth! Baby is doing fine & very active, we just get to pick his/her birthday.

My folks arrive on February 11th & we need to pick a day the week of February 9th...Kenny is opposed to February 13th (Friday - who knew he was so superstitious?) so February 12th it is if the doctor is available. I will find out tomorrow.

Now that we have a date on paper this is coming up pretty darn quick. Time to tie up loose ends!

Too bad my body doesn't know it will be a surgery birth & is stretching to get ready - ugh! People don't tell you about these things!

So all is good news and everything is expected to be fine - no worries! We are still waiting to find out if we will have a daughter or a son & have 3 names picked out for each so we will decide when we meet him/her.

Bali Trip Coming Up!

We leave tomorrow for a night in Kuala Lumpur so that Julia & Brian can see the Petronas Towers, the Batu Caves & China Town. Monday we head to Bali for 2 nights on the beach & 2 nights in the mountains. Here is where we are staying. We are uber excited.

http://www.santrian.com/ps-index.html

http://tjampuhan.com/

When we get back we have a night in Miri before taking off the next day for an overnight in Bandar, Brunei again at the Empire Hotel.

Updates & photos soon!

Singapore

We had a great time in Singapore. We stayed at the Orchard Hotel on Orchard Road. We arrived on Christmas night just in time for the road to be closed for 12 hours for a Christmas party. There were decorations like we had never seen, hundreds of people line dancing, the Prime Minister sang, lots of carolers and lots and lots of people. It was insane!

We loved Orchard Road. They had western food restaurants (we ate at California Pizza Kitchen one night), clean streets, accessible bathrooms, shopping galore (the stores smelled delicious - leather, perfumes, cosmetics, fabrics - yummy!). We even had an Orange Julius!

The subway system was awesome. We took it everywhere. We went to China Town one night & had dinner at the hawker stalls (duck rice & satay of course!). We spent an afternoon in Little India & had chicken curry (again - of course!) and spent another morning at Sentosa Beach which is THE southern most point of Continental Southeast Asia.

We had a great time & spent a lot of money - Singapore is wonderful & clean & ...expensive! We loaded up on things we couldn't get here in Miri & had a long trip hauling it all home but it was worth it. It was a delight to spend a few days in a cosmopolitan city! What a wonderful Christmas we will never forget!

Sentosa Beach - Bridge

Sentosa Beach

Vegetable stand in Little India

Cool building in Little India

Where we had dinner in China Town.

Look what Kenny found in our hotel basement!

Downtown Orchard Road on Christmas night.

More photos posted here - password is singapore
http://photobucket.com/heatheralbrecht

Bungai Beach

We mentioned a while back about going to Bungai Beach which is a 1/2 hour drive from our house. I located the photos & thought I would post them! Another private beach with a cool bridge we found on our way home.

Julia & Brian are Here!!

They got here yesterday at about 4:30 & boy were they a sight for sore eyes. Julia & I made a huge scene at the airport & the water works were on full blast. They traveled really well & after cleaning up were ready for dinner. They seem to be taking well to the jet lag & moving through it. Julia went with me to the doctor today & the baby is now 5.5 lbs. - estimated to be closer to 9 by delivery. Baby is still breech but that could change - or not. We have kept them busy showing them around Miri, eating Laksa & tonight fresh seafood at the beach restaurant. Tomorrow Julia & I are going for a massage/mani/pedi then we are all hitting the beach. Sunday we leave for Bali - we are really excited.

I will post photos of the Singapore trip which was fantastic tomorrow - we had a blast!

Happy New Year!