Category: Around the World

In January we took a quick trip to Kuala Lumpur and then to Langkawi, Malaysia.  The friendliness of everyone we encountered made a real impression on us.  Malaysia’s population is predominantly Muslim and so were most of the people we came across on our trip.  The many smiles and acts of kindness we experienced from these good people made me even more sad for the hostile rhetoric directed at Muslims from a national party platform in my home country.  Visiting a place like Malaysia quickly exposes the base inaccuracies of these negative stereotypes.  Back to our trip, we enjoyed good food and some shopping in KL, and spent most of our time in Langkawi relaxing on Datai Bay Beach.

We only had one full day in Kuala Lumpur.  Of course we paid a visit to the iconic Petronas Towers and spent a good portion of the day walking around the nearby park.

Later on we cooled off at the aquarium, where you can walk through an underwater tunnel and look up at the bellies of sharks, rays and all kinds of other fish.  If you are traveling with children or like aquariums you should definitely put this on your list.

We stayed at Le Meridien located right next to the central train station.  Since four of us were traveling it made better financial sense to take a taxi rather than the train, but we did enjoy some of the shops and restaurants at the mall adjacent to the station.  Sadaf had a memorable McDonald’s reunion there although I skipped that one holding out for sushi that never materialized.

We had a comfortable visit at Le Meridien.  We arrived at the hotel early after our overnight flight, and although our room was not ready the front desk receptionist set us up in the club lounge where we could shower and freshen up. The hotel still expedited our check in and we were in our room by early afternoon.

During our short time in KL we managed to work in plenty of good food – Korean barbecue, Malaysian, Japanese, and coffee, almost all at Pavillion Mall.  We also enjoyed some delicious comfort food at the hotel, both poolside casual and restaurant elegant at Prime.  One of the best dishes may have been the grilled salmon pasta off the kids’ menu at Prime, which would taste like a dream come true if I had it right now back here in Chennai (lots of fresh fish here but no salmon).  Other culinary highlights were local grilled fish, sashimi, salads and steak.  At a grocery market in Suria KLCC mall we found some of the best berries I’ve had outside the US.

After two nights in KL we took the one hour flight to Langkawi.  Both the Kuala Lumpur airport and Malaysia Airlines made for one of the best air travel experiences ever for us, from when we left Chennai and on to Langkawi and back.  The airport is super clean, well-organized, and airline and airport personnel remarkably pleasant and helpful.  A stark contrast to our misery-at-every-turn experience flying a U.S. carrier from Singapore across the south Pacific last fall.  Not ready to name names.  Yet.

Langkawi is an island of the northwestern coast of Malaysia, close to Thailand.  The entire island offers duty free shopping and we found unbelievable deals on chocolate, liquor and some very modest jewelry.  We rented a worn out Toyota mini-SUV for about $80 for the duration of our four-day stay.  I left the driving to my wife, well accustomed to the left-side driving, and I handled the very easy task of navigating.

We stayed at The Andaman Resort on Datai Bay Beach in the northwest corner of the island.  National Geographic has named Datai Bay Beach one of the top ten beaches in the world!  Lucky us.  An ancient rainforest grows up to the edge of the beach and provides a lush, majestic green canopy over the sand.  The beach is protected by a coral ring, the waves lap softly and the water invites you in.  We brought our snorkeling gear all the way from home to no good end – we were too firmly in relaxation mode to arrange a boat ride to the prime snorkeling spots.

The Andaman Resort made relaxation easy.  They offered a decent menu served anywhere on the beach or by the pool, including the staples of coconut water and cold beer.  One thing I greatly appreciated at this place was the fixed service charge in lieu of tipping, and I can say with great confidence that this arrangement did not diminish the service quality.  To the contrary, we were given some of the most attentive, friendliest service, with that perfect balance of professionalism but not overly formal, in the restaurants, with housekeeping, the valet, and in-room dining.

As for the ever-important role food plays in our vacations, we were quite satisfied here.  The breakfast – served in the style of a nice Sunday brunch – may have been the highlight of our meals.  It offered so many of my favorite things – fresh juices, smoked salmon, imported cheeses, and sparkling wine.

I appreciated the Bloody Mary station but managed to stay away from it each day, probably because nothing could match the unbeatable combo of sparkling wine and fresh watermelon juice.  Still, a nice option.

Other food highlights beyond the breakfast included a delightfully refreshing soft-shell crab salad which I enjoyed more than once.

I also tried barracuda sashimi (delicious, creamy texture and delicate flavor) and over-indulged in the sushi from the Japanese restaurant, which although not ethereal hit the spot especially after missing the full-on sushi experience in KL.  The fish and chips – one of those mainstays ordered for the kids but often enjoyed by the adults – was a surprising fishy tasting disappointment.  The grilled fish plates more than made up for it for eaters of all ages.  On the advice of return guests we met on the beach we skipped the signature Jala seafood restaurant whose former head chef recently relocated to Singapore.  Overall, leaving food on the plate was rare for all of us at The Andaman which is a good reflection on the quality of its food.

We ventured away from the hotel a few times.  We visited the Black Sand Beach on our first outing, which could more accurately be described as a beach with some black sand.  The area was scenic and some of us went for a swim.  Seeing it was easy because we had a car but I don’t think this beach is worth that much trouble to visit, at least compared to Datai Bay.

The next day we went to the Langkawi Wildlife Park, where the kids could feed parrots, flamingos, deer, peacocks, and U.S. street raccoons.  The same kind of raccoons I paid lots of money to keep out of my attic.  Exotic, apparently, is all relative when it comes to animals.  The spacious park leads you through a set pathway to see the animals.  Many of the birds flew and wandered freely.  The staff maintained the area well and the animals seemed healthy and happy.  This place also featured its own duty free store with even better prices than the airport. 

Back at The Andaman we found a more local kind of wildlife.  The staff warned us about the Long-Tailed Macaque, not so much for being aggressive as for being brazen in stealing food out of your room from the balcony.  Somehow I took this to mean keep your balcony door closed when out of the room.  It turned out to be more than that.  One morning we were all in the room, Sadaf and the children out on the balcony and me inside.  A monkey came out of nowhere and dashed straight through the three of them on the balcony and into the room and grabbed a can of Pringles (from the Wildlife duty-free) sitting on the dresser.  In frantic haste the balcony door got closed – after the monkey came inside the room.  The bold monkey was not too much smaller than our three-year old daughter.  We barely had time to register the worsening of the situation – the monkey now trapped in our room – when he calmly walked back to the door, grabbed the handle, gently slid the door open, and stepped outside.  He did not even leave the balcony before taking off the lid and popping the top then started digging in to the Pringles.  At that point we just stood silent, in awe and in thanks, watching the victor enjoy the spoils of his conquest.  After a bit he took the remaining snacks down to an overhang and shared with his monkey friends.

We also came across a group of Dusky Leaf Monkeys on our way to breakfast one day.  They eat only leaves and have no interest in anything that might be in your room.  So many of them and so close to us, and so quiet.  We all stood watching for a long time.  One nice observation about these next photos – we often see the baby monkey clinging to the mama’s belly which is super-cute in itself, here you also see the mama wrapping the baby in a secure hug.

Towards dusk on two separate nights we enjoyed a visit by a large black and white bird to the pool area.  This bird looked much, much bigger in real life and I wish I’d had my ‘real’ camera for a better shot but so it goes, we were lounging by the pool.

Our other major outing was to Seven Wells Falls.  Unfortunately the young children were not up for the 585-step climb to the top of the falls.  Perhaps unfortunately for them, the adults were not up for the dizzying-high tramway ride to a higher elevation away from the falls.  So we made the shorter hike (more like a very uphill walk) to the base falls.  We cooled off in the waterfall pool, took in the beauty of the glistening rocks and rainforest, all amidst the comforting sound of the moving water.

After walking back down we recharged with coconut water and popsicles.  The woman selling us these was all smiles, even as she skillfully put a nice flat bottom on the coconut and opened up the top.

Most of all, in Langkawi we soaked in the shaded sunshine and blue green water of Datai Bay.  For scenic and comfortable relaxation this place could not be beat.  We left thinking one more day would have made things just right, but I think here you always need one more day.

 

Sri Lanka is about a one hour flight and a world away from Chennai.  We started our first vacation there earlier this year with lunch at an outdoor spot in Colombo which reminded me of open air cafes in South Beach.  We took in a little of Colombo’s famous shopping, hit a juice bar and then made the 2 1/2 hour trip to the south coast.  Half the travel was escaping the grind of late afternoon Colombo traffic, and the rest was on a nice expressway where we traveled faster than we have since landing in India last July.

The waters of the Indian Ocean at Unawatuna sparkled blue and green, and the temperature was perfect.  The main beach of Unawatuna offered sitting and lounging areas, restaurants, diving and boating excursions, and more.  Some travel sites say that Unawatuna has devolved into a commercial zone overrun with tourists but we did not find that to be the case.  There are many small independent hotels, clothing shops, souvenir stores and food stands along the road which to me contributed to the overall character of the place.  It was great being able to sit on the beach and order fresh juice, food, and beer.

 

We stayed on the water at the Calamander on our first trip, it did not have its own swimming beach but offered stunning views of the ocean.

The nearby beaches each had their own character, each like a precious stone that sparkled blue and green colors in its own unique way.  The main road runs right along the coast and we were constantly tempted to get out of our car and explore each different stretch of coastline.  We ended up spending most of our time at either Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa, which was about a thirty minute drive from our hotel.

 

So we didn’t get too far from the Calamander when we returned to Sri Lanka in May.  The Calamander was great, but with two young children we wanted to spread out in a house and found this spacious place through AirB&B right on the beach.  It had a lovely pool which we never ended up using, a fantastic yard, and a ‘seawall’ with steps right down to the beach.  The beach was mesmerizing to watch from morning to night.  The coral made it not suitable for swimming or frolicking but that was okay.

Wow – Sea Turtles at Hikkaduwa Beach!

We spent a couple of afternoons at Hikkaduwa Beach, part of that time poolside at Chaaya Tranz hotel and then exploring the adjacent beach.  We were amazed to find green sea turtles swimming close to shore!  The first day we saw two, then the next time we were there we saw four.  These turtles enjoy a mostly vegetarian diet and bags of seaweed are available for sale on the beach.  They swam up into about two feet of water and were not daunted by the gathering of people to watch and photograph them.

 

Fortunately most people had the good sense and awareness not to touch the turtles.  Being in the water with these beautiful turtles may have been the highlight of the trip.  Even though this experience gave the impression of an abundance of turtles, unfortunately turtles here and worldwide remain victim to egg theft, the tortoise shell industry, and other impacts that push down on their population.  Conservation projects here and worldwide work to maintain and increase this population.

 

Maduganga River Mangrove Forest tour.  Near Hikkaduwa Beach we went on a two hour mangrove forest boat tour.  An interesting feature of this tour was the low rail bridges we went under in the boat.  Our boat driver told us to duck, an obvious necessity to keep your head.  For one bridge if you raised your head too much you would lose at least part of it.  It struck me that back home no one in their right mind would operate an enterprise like this – too much risk that someone might look up at the wrong time and the results would be catastrophic.  And there was no other solution than simply to keep your head down – given the water level and the bridge clearance this is what you had to do to get into the area you’d want to see.  In the face of this unacceptable risk the tour would not have been an option.  I am glad it was for us.

Our first stop was for a fish foot massage.  I am not sure about the therapeutic value of this but it is reported to have some and in any case it was fun feeding the fish and watching them swim.  The area is known for its cinnamon production and we went to an island where cinnamon was cultivated, harvested and prepared for sale.  I am very fond of cinnamon so this was a real treat.  The man doing this work showed us the cinnamon leaves from which cinnamon oil is extracted, and demonstrated how the bark is cut from the branches and then dried.  Later we saw a mysterious mangrove river creature with a forked tongue but never figured out what exactly it was.

Galle Fort.  Galle Fort was established by the Portuguese in the 16th Century, then refortified by the Dutch in the 17th Century.  It is now a walled city with restaurants, apartments, tea and spice shops, and clothing stores.  The narrow streets and architecture make the area somewhat reminiscent of the New Orleans French Quarter.  It was a great place to stroll, the food was fantastic, and the expansive views from the top of the fort walls over the ocean were breathtaking.  The government of Sri Lanka has done an excellent job preserving this gem.

If only Sri Lanka weren’t so far from the USA.  We are lucky to be so close to it.  If you can manage the time and expense for the long trip to Sri Lanka from the USA you will not be disappointed.  People spend weeks in Sri Lanka and still do not see all it has to offer.  We will go back to see the famous national parks and wildlife, the mountains, tea plantations, and of course, to say hello to the turtles.