So much has changed since our last international trip. We have a new travel companion - our four month old baby girl Sereen who melts our hearts with her toothless grins and shapes our days with her baby care needs. With Sereen in the picture, we had to think hard if we could still do international trips. In the end we decided that we shouldn't stop doing the things we love just because we are a family of three now. It does require more planning and thinking about different concerns but that challenge is part of what makes traveling to new cultures so alluring. We also want to instill in our daughter a love for travel and the appreciation of the human experience that comes with it. We had learnt a few travel tips from our trip to Southern California over the Christmas break so decided to put them to good use with a trans-Pacific vacation to Malaysia and Singapore.
Sarim stayed over the night on Thursday so that he could give us a ride to the airport (and play with Sereen). She is a social baby and loves having people visit her, as demonstrated by the smiles she showers on them. We left home at 4 am. Our first flight from Calgary to Seattle took off at 7 am and landed a little early which gave us ample time to have a meal at the airport. Whenever we are transiting through Seattle, we somehow always end up eating at Wolfgang Puck and it was no different this time. We shared a chicken salad and a chicken sandwich. The next flight was from Seattle to Hong Kong and this almost 15 hour flight was going to be the real test of our endurance. We got lucky and got an entire row to ourselves so we placed Sereen's car seat in the middle which allowed her to sleep more comfortably. Another lucky break was that due to stronger than usual tail wind, the flying time was reduced by about half an hour. When Sereen was awake, we entertained her and took care of her but that was only for about 6 hours since she slept for a total of almost 8 hours in 3 naps. Samia and I were both able to get some sleep too and even sneaked in a 2 hour movie. One air hostess was so enamored with Sereen that she took her for a walk around the plane and we learnt later that she even got to meet the pilots. They said goodbye to her when we were leaving the plane and knew that we were traveling from Canada. It was a Delta airlines flight and the only blemish on an otherwise comfortable and well-serviced flight was the bland food. Sereen enjoyed her diaper changes in the airplane washroom because they allowed her much needed stretching breaks on the pull-down change table. Overall, the flight went well - more smoothly than we had expected.
After landing in Hong Kong, we had a couple of hours of layover which was just about sufficient to check-in with Cathay Pacific airlines for our next flight to Kuala Lumpur, stretch our legs, use the washroom, collect the baby stroller and gate-check it for the next flight along with the car seat. The flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur was only three and a half hours but it was the most challenging since by this time Sereen was tired, we were tired and there was no car seat to help either. Despite that, Sereen had a 15 minute spell of laughter which served as an energy boost for us. We finally landed in Kuala Lumpur past midnight just as Sunday was starting, thanks to the 15 hour time difference between Canada and Malaysia/Singapore. We passed through immigration, picked up our luggage, bought a local phone SIM card and then took a taxi to our hotel, Grand Hyatt, close to the Petronas Twin Towers. The airport is outside the city so the drive was about 45 minutes.
We reached our hotel room 31 hours after leaving home but still had a few things to do before we could sleep. After giving Sereen a bath, we showered and by the time we got in bed, it was almost 4 am. Technically, this update is for two days but the first day was a travel day. We had decided to not sleep for too long so that we could get over the jet lag and were up at 8:30 am and ready for breakfast. We made sure while booking our hotels for the entire trip that breakfast was included as part of all reservations. This was by far the most impressive breakfast spread that we have seen at any hotel. The breakfast lounge is on the 38th floor with great views of the city - you can see the Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Menara Tower gracing the city skyline. The multi-cultural breakfast included traditional western items such as cereal, croissants, omelettes, bread, yogurt, smoothies, fresh juices and also Malaysian, Chinese and Middle Eastern breakfast delicacies. We decided to have a heavy breakfast so that we could last longer and make the most of daytime.
Our first stop of the day was the Islamic Arts Museum. We took a taxi since it's quite difficult to take transit with Sereen's stroller and other stuff. After seeing a lot of churches and Christian history on our previous trips, it was the first time we were going to a museum which focused on Islamic history. The museum starts with a unique section housing detailed scale models of some of the most iconic mosques from around the world, including those from Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Central Asia, Pakistan, India, China, Western Africa and Asia Pacific. There was even a mosque from New Mexico State in the US. There was a guide on the design styles of mosques in each region that adapts the original style to incorporate distinctive local architectural elements. There were galleries displaying jewelry, arms, coins, metalwork, woodwork, ceramics and textiles from India, China and Malaysia. There was a Manuscript gallery displaying calligraphy and different scripts used for the Quran. A restored Ottoman room from a house built in Syria in the early 19th century is another highlight of the museum with its painted wood paneling and spectacular decorations. The history of all kingdoms and dynasties since the Prophet's time that have had Muslim rulers, including the history of the Mughal rulers of India was chronicled in different sections of the museum. Sereen slept in her stroller through our 2 hour exploration of the museum and only woke up towards the end.
Our next stop of the day was the KLCC Bird Park which is a 20 minute walk from the Islamic Arts Museum. The weather during our trip is going to be hot and humid with temperatures in the early to mid 30s. Sereen fell asleep again, probably helped by the high humidity and heat. Later when I checked my FitBit, I realized that the 20 minute walk had been categorized as riding a bicycle because I was pushing Sereen's stroller and the grip is similar! The bird park is the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary with different sections for different birds. We saw over 200 species of birds. Lovebirds were very cute and the peacocks were magnificent. We even saw a monkey which Samia tried to scare away with the brochure in her hand. The "world of parrots" section dedicated to parrots of all kinds loudly chattering in flight was the most entertaining section but the highlight of the entire park was Samia getting her picture taken with two birds sitting on each of her hands. I'm always scared of such encounters so I decided to stand by Sereen's stroller on the pretense of protecting her. When Sereen woke up, her back was drenched in sweat so we sat down at the exit cafe under a fan to cool her down and had ice cream. Too bad Sereen can't eat solids yet otherwise she would've enjoyed the respite.
Our final stop of the day was the air conditioned Pavilion Mall. Sereen is a true Canadian and does not appreciate hot and humid weather but as soon as she sat in the air conditioned taxi, she was fine and kept babbling and playing even after we had reached the mall. It's an impressively organized mall so we went to the floor that has kids and maternity stores to shop for our little queen. In the center court of the mall, there was a special dragon dance show being put on to celebrate the Chinese New Year so we saw that at 6 pm. It was dinner time after shopping so we stopped at a Lebanese restaurant. The service was extremely slow but the food was good. We shared hummus for appetizer, I had beef and chicken shawarma platter and Samia had shish tawook. We took a taxi back to our hotel and then entertained our little emperor before going to bed. By the way, I'll be using the terms "sleeping" and "going to bed" quite loosely during this trip's updates. There is no such thing with a baby so waking up during the night to feed her, change her, put on a blanket, remove the blanket, blow her nose or even play with her to tire her out back to sleep are all part of the parenthood "sleep" routine. Till the next update, take care!
Sarim stayed over the night on Thursday so that he could give us a ride to the airport (and play with Sereen). She is a social baby and loves having people visit her, as demonstrated by the smiles she showers on them. We left home at 4 am. Our first flight from Calgary to Seattle took off at 7 am and landed a little early which gave us ample time to have a meal at the airport. Whenever we are transiting through Seattle, we somehow always end up eating at Wolfgang Puck and it was no different this time. We shared a chicken salad and a chicken sandwich. The next flight was from Seattle to Hong Kong and this almost 15 hour flight was going to be the real test of our endurance. We got lucky and got an entire row to ourselves so we placed Sereen's car seat in the middle which allowed her to sleep more comfortably. Another lucky break was that due to stronger than usual tail wind, the flying time was reduced by about half an hour. When Sereen was awake, we entertained her and took care of her but that was only for about 6 hours since she slept for a total of almost 8 hours in 3 naps. Samia and I were both able to get some sleep too and even sneaked in a 2 hour movie. One air hostess was so enamored with Sereen that she took her for a walk around the plane and we learnt later that she even got to meet the pilots. They said goodbye to her when we were leaving the plane and knew that we were traveling from Canada. It was a Delta airlines flight and the only blemish on an otherwise comfortable and well-serviced flight was the bland food. Sereen enjoyed her diaper changes in the airplane washroom because they allowed her much needed stretching breaks on the pull-down change table. Overall, the flight went well - more smoothly than we had expected.
After landing in Hong Kong, we had a couple of hours of layover which was just about sufficient to check-in with Cathay Pacific airlines for our next flight to Kuala Lumpur, stretch our legs, use the washroom, collect the baby stroller and gate-check it for the next flight along with the car seat. The flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur was only three and a half hours but it was the most challenging since by this time Sereen was tired, we were tired and there was no car seat to help either. Despite that, Sereen had a 15 minute spell of laughter which served as an energy boost for us. We finally landed in Kuala Lumpur past midnight just as Sunday was starting, thanks to the 15 hour time difference between Canada and Malaysia/Singapore. We passed through immigration, picked up our luggage, bought a local phone SIM card and then took a taxi to our hotel, Grand Hyatt, close to the Petronas Twin Towers. The airport is outside the city so the drive was about 45 minutes.
We reached our hotel room 31 hours after leaving home but still had a few things to do before we could sleep. After giving Sereen a bath, we showered and by the time we got in bed, it was almost 4 am. Technically, this update is for two days but the first day was a travel day. We had decided to not sleep for too long so that we could get over the jet lag and were up at 8:30 am and ready for breakfast. We made sure while booking our hotels for the entire trip that breakfast was included as part of all reservations. This was by far the most impressive breakfast spread that we have seen at any hotel. The breakfast lounge is on the 38th floor with great views of the city - you can see the Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Menara Tower gracing the city skyline. The multi-cultural breakfast included traditional western items such as cereal, croissants, omelettes, bread, yogurt, smoothies, fresh juices and also Malaysian, Chinese and Middle Eastern breakfast delicacies. We decided to have a heavy breakfast so that we could last longer and make the most of daytime.
Our first stop of the day was the Islamic Arts Museum. We took a taxi since it's quite difficult to take transit with Sereen's stroller and other stuff. After seeing a lot of churches and Christian history on our previous trips, it was the first time we were going to a museum which focused on Islamic history. The museum starts with a unique section housing detailed scale models of some of the most iconic mosques from around the world, including those from Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, Central Asia, Pakistan, India, China, Western Africa and Asia Pacific. There was even a mosque from New Mexico State in the US. There was a guide on the design styles of mosques in each region that adapts the original style to incorporate distinctive local architectural elements. There were galleries displaying jewelry, arms, coins, metalwork, woodwork, ceramics and textiles from India, China and Malaysia. There was a Manuscript gallery displaying calligraphy and different scripts used for the Quran. A restored Ottoman room from a house built in Syria in the early 19th century is another highlight of the museum with its painted wood paneling and spectacular decorations. The history of all kingdoms and dynasties since the Prophet's time that have had Muslim rulers, including the history of the Mughal rulers of India was chronicled in different sections of the museum. Sereen slept in her stroller through our 2 hour exploration of the museum and only woke up towards the end.
Our next stop of the day was the KLCC Bird Park which is a 20 minute walk from the Islamic Arts Museum. The weather during our trip is going to be hot and humid with temperatures in the early to mid 30s. Sereen fell asleep again, probably helped by the high humidity and heat. Later when I checked my FitBit, I realized that the 20 minute walk had been categorized as riding a bicycle because I was pushing Sereen's stroller and the grip is similar! The bird park is the world's largest free-flight walk-in aviary with different sections for different birds. We saw over 200 species of birds. Lovebirds were very cute and the peacocks were magnificent. We even saw a monkey which Samia tried to scare away with the brochure in her hand. The "world of parrots" section dedicated to parrots of all kinds loudly chattering in flight was the most entertaining section but the highlight of the entire park was Samia getting her picture taken with two birds sitting on each of her hands. I'm always scared of such encounters so I decided to stand by Sereen's stroller on the pretense of protecting her. When Sereen woke up, her back was drenched in sweat so we sat down at the exit cafe under a fan to cool her down and had ice cream. Too bad Sereen can't eat solids yet otherwise she would've enjoyed the respite.
Our final stop of the day was the air conditioned Pavilion Mall. Sereen is a true Canadian and does not appreciate hot and humid weather but as soon as she sat in the air conditioned taxi, she was fine and kept babbling and playing even after we had reached the mall. It's an impressively organized mall so we went to the floor that has kids and maternity stores to shop for our little queen. In the center court of the mall, there was a special dragon dance show being put on to celebrate the Chinese New Year so we saw that at 6 pm. It was dinner time after shopping so we stopped at a Lebanese restaurant. The service was extremely slow but the food was good. We shared hummus for appetizer, I had beef and chicken shawarma platter and Samia had shish tawook. We took a taxi back to our hotel and then entertained our little emperor before going to bed. By the way, I'll be using the terms "sleeping" and "going to bed" quite loosely during this trip's updates. There is no such thing with a baby so waking up during the night to feed her, change her, put on a blanket, remove the blanket, blow her nose or even play with her to tire her out back to sleep are all part of the parenthood "sleep" routine. Till the next update, take care!
No comments:
Post a Comment