Survivor: Brunei

I had almost given up on theme parks (let's just say we don't consider Disney World the happiest place on earth, and I would never return over and over again year after year to wait in the long lines, trudge through the masses of people and strollers and noise, and spend thousands of dollars to do it --- even though I know that's some people's idea of a good time), but since our whole family loves Lego, we decided to give Legoland Malaysia a try.

We kept our travel plans a secret from the kids until the night before. We'd seen the Lego movie the previous weekend, so I led the kids on a little "treasure hunt" to a note that said we're going to a place where "Everything is Awesome!" I had even attached a Lego man to the note. They didn't get it. Well, eventually they did, but it took several guesses, which I was not anticipating. Kind of anti-climactic. But then they were super excited, jumping around, hugging us, and thanking us. Then it was time to pack!

Legoland is about a 2 hour flight away from Miri, Malaysia (which is anywhere from a 1.5- 3.5 hour drive from our house depending on the border crossing.) We allowed plenty of time, and stopped for lunch at the boat club in Miri before catching our flight.

As a normal person, I am very frugal. I really don't like to spend money, and I always look for the cheapest options. As an expat (which is obviously NOT a normal person), I am slowly learning that I need to use the travel budget because that's a huge part of why we're doing this expat thing! So, we splurged on 3 nights in the Legoland Hotel. A lot of thought and effort has obviously gone into making the hotel a fun experience for the entire family. A pirate ship and castle are in the lobby, with lots of play areas for the kids, and plenty of Legos to build. The elevators have disco balls and music, so every trip to our Kingdom-themed suite on the 7th floor was a dance party. The suites have Lego sculptures everywhere, Duplo to play with in the room, and a safe with Lego prizes for the kids when they figure out the code to unlock the safe. So much fun! My only complaint was that they played the most horribly annoying children's music in all the common areas! Seriously, that part was awful. I would have rather had "Everything is Awesome!" playing on repeat. Must let management know. Other than that, it was fantastic!

This dragon at the hotel entrance is made out of Lego!

The kids had fun building on this Lego wall in the lobby

In the elevator

More Lego fun in the lobby

In the Bricks Restaurant where we ate breakfast

All of these things are made out of Lego! We never ceased to be amazed.

All Lego!

The park itself (relatively inexpensive, about $40 US per person for 2 days access to both Legoland and water park) is just across from the hotel, which was very convenient for us to rest during the heat of the day. Unlike every other theme park I've ever been to, Legoland and the water park were not crowded at all. The longest line we had to wait in was about 10 minutes. We had to do that 2 or 3 times. Otherwise, we could walk right on and ride over and over again without even getting off! When does that ever happen at Disney World? Same with the water slides. THIS is the way to do a theme park! I will never go anywhere else! Ha! The weather was perfect too, with lots of wind to help even when the sun was shining bright.

For us, Legoland Malaysia was ideal. Not too big, rides at just the right levels for our age range of kids, clean, safe, and fun. Plus, being Lego fans, we were all fascinated by Mini Land with Lego replicas of many famous Asian landmarks, including one from Brunei!

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque -Brunei

Angkor Wat - Cambodia

China

Taj Mahal - India

Thailand

I just kept thinking how long it must have taken to build these out of Legos. They are truly amazing. To think that these could be created out of little plastic toys... We were in awe. Of course, the real-life versions are pretty awesome themselves!

All 6 of us ended up riding this "Beetle Bounce". Lacy was so cute giggling as it went up high and then dropped several times!

Landon & Lacy had the train to themselves!

Lacy was all smiles on this one that went really fast! In fact, later on she rode it completely alone. Not a single other person was on the ride! Ha!

Lacy's favorite ride was this one... the Knight's Joust. She rode it about 10 times at least!

Natalie participated in a magic show. Pretty funny!

Just before she went on this, she said, "But Mommy, I don't know how to drive." So cute. I told her she would figure it out. She only ran into the curb a few times.

The older kids enjoyed driving on a larger track

This statue was so tall, probably about 18 feet

Didn't know it could be plural!

I didn't get many pictures of the water park because we were too busy going on all of the slides! There was one where all 6 of us could ride together in a large tube. It was really fun, and again, I loved hearing Lacy's squeals of excitement! The older kids went on every slide there. The Lazy River was a big hit too, as always. At one point I was in the Lazy River with Landon and Lacy, and we were able to wave to Keith, Natalie, and Harton who were riding a roller coaster just across the way in Legoland!

Natalie and Harton in the front row! I didn't get pictures of their favorite ride though... a Lego Technic roller coaster that they rode at least 20 times! I did get a video, but can't seem to post it on here. Keith and I also enjoyed going on the rides, although 2 times in a row is my max before I get sick!

The kids enjoyed participating in the hotel's daily model-building contest. Harton won this one for his floral bouquet. Natalie won the next day. Landon wants to go back for his chance to win!

All in all, a great little getaway! Maybe we'll make it back again before we leave this side of the world... I don't know... should we give Hong Kong Disney a try?

It seems like every time we turn around there is another school break, which means another opportunity to travel (one of the main expat perks.) I think we've travelled more in the past 2 years than we did in the 10 years prior! Anyway, last year we didn't do anything during the October holiday because we were too traveled-out after our summer USA trip. So this year I booked a trip to KL for the October holiday way back in January, going off of the dates from the 2 previous October holidays. Wouldn't you know, they changed the dates this year! So, our trip was the week AFTER a 2-week school break. It was going to cost too much to change it, so we kept it as-was. Mistake #1: I booked the wrong week.

Having lived in cities most of my life, and having already done a city trip to Singapore, I've concluded I am not really much of a city person. So, even though I had booked tickets to KL, I wanted to go somewhere else. Penang seemed logical. It's just a 1-hour flight from KL, it's historic (a UNESCO World Heritage site! -whatever that means - ha!), and there's a beach! Great! So, then I booked a mini-trip to Penang. The plan was 4 nights at a beach resort in Penang, and 3 nights at an apartment in the KL City Center. Mistake #2: Going to 2 places in 1 week. It's just too much. The kids can't handle it. Ok, I can't handle it. Note to self: stay put in one place if we only have 1 week.

I booked our tickets on AirAsia because they were having a mega-sale back in January, so the tickets were really cheap. We try to travel with all carry-ons when we fly AirAsia due to quick connection times. Trying to corral 4 kids pulling bags through the airport, and getting everything on and off the security belts, is SO MUCH FUN! And then Keith's bag weighed too much, so they forced us to check it, and pay the cost of 2 bags because we hadn't pre-paid for checked luggage. Also, the KL airport sucks for AirAsia. The plane stops about a mile from the gate, you have to exit the plane via stairs, and then walk a mile outside in the heat and smelly airplane fume air. Remember, we had 4 kids with all carry-ons. Yeah. We weren't exactly trucking it. And then we had to walk the mile all the way back for the connecting flight, but first we had to collect Keith's forcibly checked bag after going through immigration. To top it all off, an AirAsia agent asked if I'm pregnant (I'm not.) Not even funny. That was the last straw, so to speak. AirAsia, I'm not happy with you! Mistake #3: AirAsia.

So, by the time we got to Penang, it was about 3:30. A driver picked us up to take us to the resort in Batu Ferringi, which turned out to be about another hour's drive away. We made it to the hotel just in time for a major thunderstorm. So much for going to the pool or beach that evening.
Mistake #4: Going to Penang in October. Apparently since the tsunami back in 2004, the weather patterns have really changed. The locals told us that it used to be fine during October, but it now rains every day. Perfect.

Are you catching the drift here? Not to be completely negative... but this was not my best trip-planning job.

On the plus side, a camera can capture just those moments that you actually want to remember from a trip, and convince everyone else that things went perfectly, and that traveling with 4 kids is just so easy and always fun! So, here are some pictures to do just that. Though now you know the truth. Ha!

We stayed at a really nice resort, the Golden Sands by Shangri La, based on recommendations from several people. Unfortunately, we couldn't seem to escape the smell of cigarette smoke. It rained a lot while we were there, so we spent more time inside, and had to walk by ashtrays full of cigarette butts every time we got off the elevator to go to our room. Gross!

Kids having fun on a sunny day!

Pretty view. Too bad the water was opaque. It felt nice though!

Happy Meals!

OK... we NEVER eat at McDonald's in the USA!

But now suddenly my kids get all home sick when they see the Golden Arches, and we HAVE to eat there out of some sort of warped patriotic duty. And so we did. Every day. I kid you not.

Mistakes #5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

The sad thing is, Penang is apparently known for their street food, so we really missed out.

Oh, but look at the expression on Lacy's face. So happy.

And... Landon may have starved to death if we hadn't eaten there.

We discovered a 4th food he'll eat: Chicken McNuggets!

Landon lives! He'll pay for it later with clogged arteries.

A major rainstorm

The best thing about the Golden Sands resort was the Adventure Zone. It's an indoor, nonsmoking, play place unlike anything you would find in the US. The slides are too steep to be legal in any Western country. But it's right on par for Asia, and the kids loved it! There's an additional entrance fee though, even for hotel guests. We went 3 times since it was so rainy.

Natalie loved this steep slide that ended in a ball pit. Harton was brave enough to go down the higher, steeper death drop slide, which I don't even have a picture of! Trust me, it would not be allowed in the USA!

One day we went into historic Georgetown to try to see some sites. The Cheong Fatt Tze mansion, constructed on principles of Feng Shui, came recommended, so off we went.

This is one of the "10 greatest mansions in the world." Who knew?

Nice entrance.

Fancy, fancy

Very feng shui

The kids were BORED because it turned out to be a guided tour, which they HATE. They would have liked to explore the place on their own, maybe play a few games of hide and seek, and be out of there in 15 minutes. An hour-long tour was not what they had in mind. To be honest, it wasn't what I had in mind either, but it was pretty interesting to hear some of the information about the house.

On the way to the mansion, we passed the Chocolate & Coffee Museum, so we promised the kids a trip there if they could make it through the Cheong Fatt Tze tour.

Interesting. I would have thought USA would be a bigger consumer of chocolate.

Sampling the chocolate was the highlight. Some favorites included dark chocolate and hazelnut chocolate. Least favorites were durian chocolate and chile chocolate!

The British Fort Cornwallis, another historic site

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Cornwallis

That's the first time I've ever tried putting a link in a post. Don't know if it will work, but try it if you want more info on the history of the fort.

Across the water is peninsular Malaysia

Pretty Town Hall

Some sort of temple, I guess, from the cab window

The view from our balcony on the prettiest day. A postcard day!

The obligatory beach jumping pose

I've never seen so many women in the full head-to-toe, only eyes showing, black hijab,

as pictured above.

I found myself thinking about it a lot, as these women were everywhere. Aside from how hot I'd be wearing it out there on the beach on a sunny day, I actually think it would be quite freeing. I know people think they're oppressive to women, but I had a revelation. Bad hair day? So what? Zits? They're hidden from sight. Look hideous without makeup? No problem. Food stuck in your teeth? No one can see it. Haven't shaved your legs or armpits? No worries. And most importantly, the freedom not to "suck in" or worry what you look like in a bathing suit while you stroll the beach, or even when you just get dressed on a normal day. No one can judge, compare, ogle, size you up, etc. You can "let it all hang out" and be comfortable! I actually considered buying one. But there's the whole HEAT problem, so I didn't. Well, and I'm not Muslim.

Anyway...

Lacy made a friend! Charlotte from Australia. They played so well together!

Oh! I DID get a picture of the red slide! SCARY! I don't even think this picture does it justice. It's pretty much a straight drop down over the edge. Harton is brave! Keith also did it!

There were other sights I wanted to see in Penang, but the weather prevented it.

Oh well. Can't do it all.

Lacy throwing a tantrum in the airport before flying back to KL.

Riding the train into KL City Center.

Waiting for a cab at the train station. Look at that crazy line!

See, even though Penang is "just" an hour flight from KL, we left our hotel at 12:30pm, and didn't actually get into our apartment in KL until nearly 9:00pm. That's how much extra time was spent waiting for transport, on the train, in the airport, etc. Makes for a long day.

The Petronas towers from the window of the cab.

A Hindu celebration, Diwali, was going on that week.

This sand art was in the lobby of our apartment.

The KL Bird Park was beautiful.

We shared the walking path with peacocks and other birds.

He must have found my stash.

The monkeys there are a lot tamer than our local ones.

Keith volunteered for the bird show!

The tall center building is where we stayed, The Ascott. It was really great. I highly recommend it. We had a 3-bedroom apartment, so plenty of space for our family. They also threw in free breakfast every day, which was pretty good. We could walk to KLCC, so that was convenient too.

The center building is KL Tower. We thought we may eat dinner up in the revolving restaurant one night, but we never got around to it.

Petronas towers

We had plans to explore the Petrosains Discovery Center in the Suria KLCC mall, but we got there too late. Mistake #10: Not budgeting enough time for outings.

The giant Suria KLCC mall

I felt like I was in the Dallas Galleria, and I am fully conditioned for El Fenix Mexican food at the Galleria. I could literally SMELL it, but alas, it was all in my mind. Instead we wound up at an "authentic" Malaysian restaurant.

At the Malaysian restaurant, this was the extent of the kids' menu. Ha! 3 of our kids actually do eat a variety of foods, so they were happier with sweet and sour chicken and rice. Landon didn't eat.

The Malaysian food was much better than this (above) salad that I ordered at Tony Roma's on another occasion. To counteract all the McDonald's, a "strawberry walnut salad" sounded like just the thing. Do you see what this is? It's a bowl of iceberg lettuce, swimming in a creamy pink dressing, coated with ground up walnuts, 5 pieces of feta, and less than one strawberry. It was at this precise moment that I truly wanted to move back to America. Because of a salad.

Mistake #11: Ordering a salad. I would have preferred McDonald's.

I was telling my mom about eating at McDonald's all week, and she said something about how I could have gotten salad there. Nope. See, here's the thing. McDonald's is different in Asia. It's like how McDonald's used to be in America. There aren't any "healthy" alternatives; just burgers, fries, and McNuggets. At least they're consistent though. I bet you a strawberry walnut salad at Tony Roma's in the USA looks & tastes very different from the one I got in KL!

A cool piece of art outside the Petronas towers

KL Tower at night

A fountain/light show set to music in KLCC

On our last day in KL, we visited a highly recommended kids' destination, "Kidzania" (pronounced like lasagna, kid"sagna", as I learned from the theme song that repeated about 26 times during the day.) It's a 2-story, indoor town just for kids. Children earn "money" by doing tasks such as delivering packages, designing a travel brochure, working in a shop, etc. They can spend their money to do any number of things like make jewelry, climb a rock wall, get their face painted, drive a car, and so much more. It's a great concept, which has apparently caught on with the local school groups as we had to share the place with 1,000 other kids.

Mistake #12: Going to Kidzania with 1,000 other kids. All that noise, waiting in long lines, and the smell of sweaty little children who really should be wearing deodorant, makes for a cranky Mommy. And when Mommy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Despite the chaos, we managed to stay the entire day and shut the place down. The kids finally got the swing of things during the 7th hour as the school groups were leaving. It doesn't look crowded in the pictures because only a handful of kids are allowed in each "shop" at a time, and adults aren't allowed in at all (even though we too had to pay. Go figure.)