Leaving Kota Kinabalu

The morning of our departure we had breakfast and tried to wear the kids out a bit for our journey to Bangkok where we would over night before heading back to Chengdu.



Gemma enjoying the swings! We definitely take swings for granted as they are very hard to come by in Chengdu.





Jonny and Angus on the teeter-totter. Angus couldn't figure out why he couldn't get the darn thing to go down!



We had a fabulous vacation and we were very happy to visit this beautiful island. I really felt well rested from this vacation and ready to tackle my hectic summer travel schedule. I

Last Night in Kota Kinabalu

Gemma excited for the party!


On our last night of our vacation Gemma attended the Kid's Club party and Angus had a babysitter in the room so we could have a peaceful dinner together.



Jonny posing.



Jonny and I went to the Sunset Bar to watch the sunset. We were not disappointed and had a beautiful view. We also ran into the new friends we met who also opted for the kids club party and babysitter for their two sets of twins.

Jonny and I had a very nice dinner in the Italian restaurant in the hotel which I wished we had tried before our last night. We went to pick Gemma up around 10 pm and this is what was going on when we arrived.



Gemma having a ball!

When we went to pick Gemma up they had a magician and the kids were not fooled by him, but they were having a blast trying to figure out his tricks.

Kayaking in Kota Kinabalu

Gemma and Angus on their kayak.

On our last full day in Kota Kinabalu we decided to take a page from our Vietnam adventure and take the kids out on kayaks. This time it was nice and warm and the water was very swimmable. Here are some pictures from our ride.



Angus and me



The kids and me.

We kayaked out to this little uninhabited island which was about 20 feet by 20 feet. We got off and took a little swim in the water and had a bit of a rest. One thing we did discover on our little kayaking trip is that we really enjoy kayaking and would love to have more of an outdoors type of camping and kayaking vacation in the near future. The kids love being on the water and it is quite a good work-out for us.



Jonny and the kids.



The kids and the kayaks. You can see our hotel in the background.

Snorkeling on Manukan Island

A view of the beach on Manukan Island.

We took a 10 minute shuttle boat over to the small island of Manukan for some snorkeling and lunch. We were hoping to get the kids used to snorkeling on this trip and also get sometime in ourselves. Here are some pictures from our day on the island.



Lunch was too tempting for us. They had a huge BBQ with tons of seafood and of course we couldn't resist. Here is the BBQ station.



There were a couple of gorgeous cats hanging around the BBQ station and the kids were intrigued by them.





Gemma and me at lunch.



Angus loving his special treat of Sprite!



Now for the exciting part! Gemma was able to over come her fear of snorkeling! We were all over the moon! Here she is looking for fish with her Daddy.



She looks like a real pro here!



Angus was happy enough to hang out on the beach and play in the sand and in this kayak. He would have been fine with the snorkeling, but his mask was too big for him and water kept getting in his eyes.



On the boat on the way back to the resort. We had a great time snorkeling and can't wait to get the kids in the water again.

Rasa Ria Orangutans

Gemma and Angus getting ready to hop on the bus.

Yesterday the kids and I headed over to the Rasa Ria Resort to check out the Nature Reserve located inside the resort. Little did I know that we could actually bring our swimsuits along and enjoy the swimming pool and other activities at this beautiful resort. I ended up having to buy Gemma a swimsuit and watch the kids from the edge of the pool. I was able to take some great pictures of them though, so it was definitely worth forgetting my bikini. Here are some pictures of our day.

When we arrived there was a man playing this musical instrument. As you can see a couple of the kids (of course Angus was one of them) tried to accompany him on his song.

Angus spotted a sprinkler. As you can tell by his grin, he wanted to run through it!



Angus enjoying the pool.



Angus enjoyed the pool a little too much and ended up in this chair for a little break from the pool.



Gemma loved the pool and her new suit!



We met another family who was also staying at our hotel. They have four kids, twin boys and twin boy and girl! Here the kids are with the two boys in front of the Nature Reserve.



The tour of the Nature Reserve was quite quick. We just walked up to one of the feeding stations to watch the ranger feed the Orangutans. We could stay as long as we wanted and snap pictures. They were quite active, but I only got a few great pictures.

Here is a little information about Orangutans I found from the Nature Reserve's website:

Orangutans (from the Malay phrase Orangutan, 'man of the forest') live in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. 10,000 years ago, Orangutans ranged as far north as China, and as far south as Java in Indonesia. Now they are only present on the islands of Borneo (estimated population: 22,000) and Sumatra (estimated population: 5,000).

Why are they endangered?
The greatest threats to Orangutans is habitat loss due to mechanized logging. Agriculture is the most obvious threat presently facing Orangutan populations. In addition, Orangutans have a slow reproductive rate: female Orangutans have only one baby every 7 to 8 years.

What can be done to help?
Rehabilitation Centres, such as those in Sepilok, have been set up to accommodate confiscated pet Orangutans. The aim of the rehabilitation centre is to guide the young Orangutans through their development and ultimately return them to the forest.

Gemma and Angus were definitely more interested in the other kids. Gemma's new nickname should be the Baby Whisperer. The baby twins absolutely loved her!

Another happy Orangutan, climbing trees.

After another dip in the pool and lunch for Jonny who met us for the tour of the Nature Reserve, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the dinner at the Sunset Bar along with a Traditional Malaysian Dance performance.

Angus with other musician in the lobby of our hotel on the way to dinner.

At dinner with the family. Gemma just couldn't keep her eyes open for the pictures.

Here comes the dancers!

Gemma loved it!

Gemma coming back over to us after the performance. Unfortunately the weather got bad with high winds and then rain, so the performance was cut short. We did really enjoy ourselves and had a ton of yummy food.

Relaxing in KK

On our first full day in KK we didn't do a whole lot. We took a bike ride around the other side of the hotel grounds which lasted a whole 10 minutes due to the heat and humidity. The hotel grounds are really lovely with such a gorgeous sea view. The other thing that makes the grounds so beautiful is that it is so lush! I really have learned to appreciate greenery after living in Arizona for 10 years and Chengdu for the past 2 1/2 years.



Jonny and Angus



Gemma and Jonny with a great view!



One of the cool things we found in our room is a robe that is Gemma's size! She really loved it and has been wearing it every night. She had been dancing and practicing her Kung Fu in the mirror when I snapped this shot!

We have arrirved in Paradise!

We arrived in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday around lunch time. We were so happy to arrive at our resort about 10 minutes after we hopped in a taxi. The hotel was very beautiful and this was the view from our room.

We had afternoon tea and took a tour of the hotel facilities and grounds to see what we were going to do during our week before taking a quick dip in the pool. Here are a few pictures of our surroundings.



The boardwalk around the hotel was well built and very picturesque.



We took a peek of the pool through the beautiful tropical plants.



Their is a small private beach at the resort. The island is quite rocky by the sea so I suspect this is a made made beach, but still incredibly beautiful.

There are quite a few orangutans on the island and the other hotel actually has a Orangutans Rehabilitation Center which we are planning to visit during our stay. The water is quite calm here too, so we are going to take the kids out snorkeling for their second go at it. (The first time wasn't too successful!) We are also going to try and a day hike around Mt. Kinabalu. I look forward to sharing the pictures of this lovely place!

Malaysia, Simply Asia!

We are getting ready to leave for a the May holiday on our trip to Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We have traveled to Penang, Malaysia before, but we have never been to these parts of Malaysia. Our favorite thing about Malaysia is the food and we are looking forward to more of that plus some beautiful beaches.

I hoping to share some pictures during our stay in both places. Stay tuned!