More Langkawi Pictures

2007-02-24 Malaysia Trip

We made our first Asian excursion during the time we had off for the Chinese New Year. Without any knowledge of what to do, we chose to go to Langkawi, Malaysia based on a recommendation from a local travel agent.

It turned out to be a good recommendation. We took the Maglev on Sat Feb 17 to the Pudong Airport (see previous pictures). This train is about 1/2 mile from our house and it takes 8 minutes to get to the airport vs. a 45 minute car ride. Amazing!

The kids were great on the plane. It took about 5 hours to get to Kuala Lumpur (KL), then we had a layover, changed planes and arrived on the island of Langkawi around 6 pm. It was hot and humid when we got off the plane and we were excited about getting to the hotel to swim! We had a van pick us up and it took about 30 minutes to get to the Westin Resort.

The resort is in a very tropical location and has an open air lobby. The service when we arrived was good and we knew we would be taken care of. We got into our room and we saw that we had a beautiful view of the landscaped area of the hotel and waterfalls as well as partial view of the sea.

I actually don't think we made it to swim that first day because by the time we ate dinner, the kids were toast. They had a swim in the bathtub and then to sleep to get ready for the next day. Kirk and I were able to sit on our balcony and have a glass of wine while they were sleeping so we did get some alone time!

We got a start the next morning by letting Daddy sleep in while we went and had breakfast at this awesome buffet! Then we went swimming. This was pretty much our standard routine (Daddy joined breakfast occasionally) for the next 6 days.

Those kids had so much fun swimming. There were 4 pools and here is what Elizabeth named them...1.) The Fountain pool (1 ft deep childrens pool with a small fountain in the center), 2.) The Rock pool (see pictures) 3.) The Big pool (self explanatory) and 4.) The Small pool (on the other side of the big pool). We pretty much worked our way around all of the pools everyday.

Alex's favorite was the fountain pool. He could swim around on his own in this pool. He could crawl on his hands while kicking his feet. Good start to swimming.

This was also the pool where Elizabeth learned to swim. She didn't have to wear her water wings in this pool and she was doing the same crawling thing as Alex. Except one time, she decided to swim with her face underwater and that was it....she was an official swimmer.

I'm tired, I'll edit the post and write more tomorrow!

Ironman Langkawi Malaysia

The last day we were in Malaysia they held the Ironman Triathalon. This triathalon consists od a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and finshes with a 26.2 mile (marathon) run. The temperatures reached 95 degrees plus on the island but it didn't seem to phase most of the athletes completing. Above is a picture of the lady that won as she was about a mile from the finish line.

If you want to learn more about the ironman race goto www.ironman.com.

Happy 1st Birthday Olivia!

Elizabeth Swimming Underwater

Happy Birthday Uncle Kevin!

Elephant Video + More Cable Car Videos

Langkawi, Malaysia Pictures

2007-2-20 Malaysia Trip

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Chinese New Year Dinner at the Resort

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

The Chinese New Year begins on February 18th. At midnight the skies all over China will be filled with fireworks as everyone sets them off. This upcoming year is special as it is the year of the Golden Pig. The Golden Pig only comes once every 60 or 600 years depending on who you talk to. It is believed that if you are born this year you will be very successful. There are many articles in the english paper here about how many couples are planning to have a child this year. The government is worried that there will be a population surge which will require them to build more schools several years from now.

We will not be in Shanghai for the New Years Celebration, we are going to a beach resort in Langkawi, Malaysia. If you look at the map below it is the little island south of Penang and West of Georgetown. We will update the blog with pictures and stories when we return.

Alex is Growing Up Fast

2007-02-15 Alex Pictures

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Alex Reading a Book

You can see by the pictures and video that Alex is no longer a baby. He is growing up too fast.

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a pretty good Valentines Day! Mommy made a wonderful meal for dinner and Daddy brought home a Heart Shaped Strawberry Ice Cream Cake from Haagen Dazs. Elizabeth had a Valentines Day Party at school where she exchanged Valnetines with all of her friends.

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) in Shanghai

Kath took me to see Roger Waters (original member of Pink Floyd). She would tell you it was not that good, but he really put on a good show. Roger Waters is very much from the left side and is not a big fan of George Bush, Tony Blair or the War in Iraq. Regardless of how you feel about the previous people/issues it was amazing to see him freely speak out about those subjects and many other anti-government subjects. The crowd went crazy over it. Most Chinese are also not big fans of George Bush. They especially went crazy when they played "Another Brick in the Wall" (We don't need education...We don't need thought control...) while showing video of the Wall separating East and West Germany coming down. All of this happening in a supposed Communist Country. It was pretty interesting to be there.

The show was very good, he played almost all Pink Floyd songs and played the "Dark Side of the Moon" Album in it's entirety. The politcal talking got to be a little too much, but the music was very good for a 60 year old dude. He played for 2.5 to 3 hours. Unlike the Eric Clapton concert this show was made up of mostly Chinese.

Here is a review of the show including the set list:

http://www.shanghaiist.com/archives/2007/02/13/roger_waters_de.php

Window Washers

If you ever wondered how they wash the windows of our apartment, this is how they do it in China. I will remind you that we live on the 20th floor of a 32 story building. Alex was pretty impressed.

Budding Artists

2007-02-09 Budding Artists

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Both Alex and Elizabeth love to paint. Mom tapes up paper on the window and lets them get creative.

New Years Dinner with Kirk's Work

2007-02-08 Dura Sales New Years Dinner

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We went out to dinner with Kirk's Sales Team to celebrate Chinese New Year. We also invited Shou Ju (her husband couldn't come due to work) and Liu and his family. We had dinner at the largest buffet that I have ever been to. We had a good time getting to meet everyone. Elizabeth and Alex got a little restless towards the end of the dinner, but overall were pretty good.

Alex's First Hair Cut

2007-02-03 Alex Haircut

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After too many times of being asked whether Alex was a "nushi or nanhai" (girl or boy), we decided it was time to cut his hair. I'd cut his bangs one time in the past, but never had been ready to part with his baby curls.

We took him to Elizabeth and my hairdresser, Farhana. He was pretty cautious about the whole thing. Kirk held on to him and we gave him lots of different stuff to play with. He cried a little bit, but overall did a fairly decent job. Kirk did have to hold him in a headlock once, so that she could snip around his ears.

You can see his new cut. Fortunately, he still has the curls. After a shower last night, the afro came back and it is still very cute!