The Big Surprise!

One of the reasons for this trip was to meet Wendy and Nick on the homeward leg of their world tour with their friends Jan and Barrie Billet. It had been discussed months before they left Australia 11 weeks ago and in the meantime, younger sister Jan and her husband Alan decided to join us in KL and surprise Wendy and Nick.

So Jan and Alan are on their way to KL, unbeknown to Wendy and Nick, and in the meantime we are still crook from the bugs we caught in India. By the second day in KL we'd had enough so we contacted the staff at Traders and asked them to organise a doctor. Barely an hour later a doctor and nurse turned up at our room and we were pleasantly surprised to know that he had lived in India for 7 years and knew exactly what the problem was. Most likely a bug caught from water, despite the fact we'd been meticulous with our bottled water and hygiene. So a collection of pills and tablets were prescribed and we hoped to feel better which we did by the end of the day. At least we could venture further afield and not have to worry about being caught short. Oh the joys of travel!

Jan and Alan arrived in KL on the 3rd and we met them for dinner at Madame Kwong's restaurant in the Suria KLCC centre for some real Asian food at last. Wendy and Nick were arriving the next day so we planned the surprise and then the girls got shopping in KL ... no shoe or clothing store was out of bounds! Meanwhile the guys wait around and watch the world go by. We then visited the Fish Doctor where tiny fish nibble your feet and legs ... an amazing experience ... and we all even had a full massage.



Wendy and Nick's flight didn't arrive until late so we headed to Jalan Alor, where the night street hawkers set up after sundown and the street becomes one large crowded restaurant with plastic tables and chairs set up in the roadway and touts vying for business. We had a sumptuous collection of Asian dishes drowned with bottles of Tiger beer ... a wonderful feast!

Back at Traders for the surprise we patiently waited for Wendy and Nick who duly arrived with the Billets for check-in at 11pm. We invited them to our room for drinks and Charlie called for "Room Service", secretly calling Jan and Alan's room. Shortly afterwards a knock at the door and as I had the video camera in hand I asked Wendy to answer it. The big surprise went down a treat and Wendy was completely stunned as Jan and Alan stood at the door. We all then headed to the Skybar which was in full swing and we caught up until the early hours. This had been the first time we'd all been together since Mim died back in February. A great time indeed.



We had the next day with all of them and we hit the shops and finalised our packing of parcels for sending back home. This was nightmare! We were quoted 250 ringit to send one kilo home by DHL. That's $85 Australian per kilo and we had 22 kilos! So we'd have to organise to send by regular postage and as it was Saturday it became a messy exercise. Anyway we left it in the capable hands of Russell and Vivienne from Traders. Crossed fingers it all gets back home!

Sunday am saw us at the old KL railway station which is now the bus terminal. We had a comfortable 5 hour trip north to Penang where we checked into the famous Eastern and Oriental Hotel. In a word ... WOW! On arriving we are handed cool drinks and cold towels to freshen up... and that's while we are at the reception desk! Then our butler Andrew leads us to our room. We are in the Noel Coward - Somerset Maugham Wing. As the door opens we are greeted not with your usual one room hotel room but a long dark hallway. Down the hall on the left Andrew opens the first set of doors to reveal an enormous bathroom, marble tiled floors and a wash basin either end, one for ladies one for gents.

Next it's another set of doors ... this is the change room ... racks either side for ladies and gents and a make-up mirror and seat down the end. Then it's the main room with two double beds, and finally to the drawing room with lounge, desk, TV and bay windows which open out onto a view of the Straits of Malacca. This is the stuff of legend and everything is just like it was on the old days when the likes of Mary Pickford, Orson Welles, Rudyard Kipling, Noel Coward, Somerset Maugham and Rita Hayworth stayed here. We discover that our room is one of the largest so who knows, maybe one of the famous people actually stayed here.

This hotel is unbelievable and I'll post photos soon enough but suffice to say ... we've never experienced anything like it anywhere before. Our butler is on call 24 hours a day and the restaurants and food are amazing. We even ventured down to the 1885 Rooms for afternoon tea of cucumber sandwiches and Darjeeling tea before heading to Sarkies Corner for an amazing dinner. Fresh cooked lobster and every type of seafood you've ever seen plus the usual indulgences like roast duck and thick steaks of Australian Wyagu beef. Maybe I overdid it a little after eating so little for so long, as my stomach is complaining again this morning so it's wait and see.

Just under a week to go and Wendy and Nick are heading home after 11 weeks and Jan and Alan join us here in Penang today. We're hoping to try some of the local food later today ... known as the best in Malaysia, but we'll see.