World destination #1 = Malaysia!!

As I sit and (finally!) update our blog, Guillaume is sitting across from me in what Lonely Planet calls the restaurant with the best pizza in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.  He's just checked his hockey stats, and is cooling down with some cold bottled water.  I'm not sure if I agree with Lonely Planet's unofficial title for this joint, but we are appreciating the aircon (air conditioning).  Just over a week ago, we left Montreal in the dead of winter to quickly warm up (more like swell up!) in Southeast Asia. After flying for over 20 hours and travelling for more than 35 hours, we finally reached our first destination on Wednesday, January 18th = Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!  Our three flights went without a hitch, and we were luckily able to catch a few zzzz's, too!  We've been having an amazing adventure so far, and can hardly believe that we're actually doing this! 

Sidenote: I apologize in advance for the layout of some of the pictures - I uploaded the pictures in a different way and can't figure out how to change the orientation of the vertical ones.  Hope your neck doesn't get too sore!  :)

 

I think we can all confer - I have a bit of an addiction to Starbucks coffee.  One last stop in the Montreal Airport before our first flight to Washington, D.C. 

So happy to be traveling with Guillaume's sister, Catherine, and her boyfriend, Marc!  On our third flight from Doha, Qatar to KL.

At a fish spa in KL's Chinatown.  Such a weird and crazy experience...glad we tried it!  Guillaume said it felt like someone was tickling his feet.  I'm not quite sure what I thought if felt like. 

In KL with a travelling exhibition of bear sculptures.  Pictured above: the Canadians with the Canadian bear!  L to R: Mike (Shannon's husband), Shannon (Guillaume's cousin), Guillaume, Catherine & Marc.

In front of the Petronas Towers in KL.  

Enjoying a free breakfast at a Buddhist Temple across from Mike and Shannon's apartment.  Some type of noodle dish accompanied by some type of sweet, pea soup. 

At the wet market in KL.  I didn`t know why it was called a 'wet' market until we went - they process and sell meat, seafood, produce, etc.  At a few points, I wished I had water boots on....it was a bit gross, but a fun experience!  :)

A picture for my dad.  :)  Just before this was taken, the guy in the back was blow-torching one of the heads to get everything off.  Interesting!  

I woke up one morning while we were in KL craving banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast.  We happened to pass by a Starbucks the night before, so guess where we were headed to at 7:30 am the next day?  It was a good pay off for waking up at 5:30 am and not being able to go back to sleep.  Jet lag?!

At Batu Caves just outside of Kuala Lumpur. 

With our wonderful hosts at Batu Caves!  Thanks so much, Mike and Shannon!  Looking forward to spending a few more days with you! 

Guillaume with KL in the background.  :)

The six of us in Batu Caves. 

A few monkeys on some machinery at Batu Caves.  Our second experience with monkeys today wasn't as uneventful.  Let's just say that the monkeys got the best of me today.  :)

Enjoying a lovely Indian meal courtesy of an acquaintance of Marc.  Guillaume and I agreed - best Indian food ever! 

Such delicious fresh fruit!!!  Exotic to us back home, but so plentiful (and cheap!) in SE Asia.  

Guillaume and I had a great time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and look forward to returning next week for about a week.  While waiting to sort out some visas, we hope to see a bit more of the beautiful country!

Last night, we flew from Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia to Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.  We had a wonderful three day trip there with Marc, Catherine, Mike and Shannon, and are happy to continue our travels in Bali for the next week with Marc and Catherine. We've been here for only one day, and I'm already totally in love with Bali!  

We're so glad that so many of our family and friends are keeping up with our blog - THANK YOU!  Stay tuned for our next blog about Yogya!!!  And, keep the comments coming (but please remember to sign your name...we're not sure who some of the anonymous comments are from on the last post)!  :)