24 hours in KL

KLCC Park playground

Back when we had newly arrived in Laos I was obsessed with making the most of our time here and trying to get as much Asian travel in as possible. Not a bad pursuit. I spent a fair amount of time searching for cheap flights and deals. Luckily for us I stumbled across some cheap flights from Vientiane to KL with Air Asia that were too good to miss out on.

So last week we headed to Malaysia for a mini break. The original plan had been for us to spend the entire time in Langkawi relaxing on the beach but Air Asia made a minor adjustment to our flights and we ended up with an extra day of holiday and consequently an unexpected day in KL!

I'll write about Langkawi another time but I wanted to fill you in on our day in KL. We started our planning with a google search "things to do with kids in KL" or something along those lines. Its my usual starting point. Mainly because happy children = happy parents = happy holidays. But also because whenever we go to a big city there are things there that you just can't get here- like playgrounds, and aquariums, and other kid friendly activities.

We had stayed in some relatively budget accommodation in Langkawi so we splashed out a bit on our accommodation in KL and got a suite in a hotel/residence quite close to the Petronas towers and all the action. The hotel was excellent. Clean, huge rooms, friendly staff, amazing food and a very relaxing pool. And to top it all off (in Bea's eyes)- it even had its own playground. When we walked into the hotel room rather late at night Bea looked around the room and said "this hotel hasn't got a bed!" She was looking at us like we were idiots for having booked such a room. But when we showed her the separate bedroom with the huge bed her eyes lit up and there was at least half an hour of excited squeals while she got comfy in the big bed, jumped on it, and snuggled in with the down pillows.

Moments like that are what holidays are all about- staying up past your bedtime to jump on the incredibly plush bed and snuggle into the bedding with your mum and dad!

Anyway our full day in KL was mainly spent around the Petronas towers and KLCC park. We headed there in the morning and spent a good couple of hours in the "ginormous" playground. Honestly, Bea was running around like a lunatic. She was hot and sweaty but she didn't care because there was SO much to do. Unfortunately the adjacent splash park area was under maintenance so we had no way of cooling off but we went into the shopping mall instead and enjoyed mixed berry juices in the air conditioned delight.

After a kip by the pool we all had an afternoon swim. KL was quite a bit cooler than Vientiane and the water felt fresh compared to the swimming conditions we have become accustomed to. Feeling refreshed we ordered room service snacks and then headed out again to the playground for an evening play before heading out for dinner. We could have gone to a number of amazing Malaysian restaurants but in the end I fulfilled my craving for a beef pie! Yep, I am Australian at heart!

FYI some of the other attractions that we had thought about going to but just didn't get to were the KL Bird Park and Botanical Gardens, the aquarium and the Petronas Towers observation deck (closed on the day of the week we were there)

We really enjoyed the little of KL that we saw and would be keen to head back there another time. But for now, we had a ball for our day there!

Melinda xx

KLCC Park, Kuala Lumpur

The perfect dismount!

Hot and sweaty playground action

The pool at our hotel

Where did 2 months go?

Hi everyone,

First up I want to apologise for the lack of "activity". In some ways I'm not sure where the time went, and in other ways I know exactly where it went! Anyway, I have high hopes for more regular updates now that life is settling somewhat into a bit of Laotian normality.

Is that enough? Probably not. I can't imagine that an apology will satisfy your enquiring minds as to what exactly we have been up to over the past 2 months. So let me fill you in on few things.

In my last post (August 16th FYI) I was feeling good. Back from holidays in Phuket, refreshed from time with my sister showing her around, enjoying work after a needed break.

Enter morning sickness. Yep that's right. For those of you who don't already know via another means, I'm pregnant. Currently 18 weeks and counting. And about one week after my last post the dreaded ALL day sickness kicked in. To be more specific it was 4am sickness that carried on into the day, abated for a few hours and then kicked back in again at around 5pm. Anyway, its over now, lets not dwell. I only want to say that nausea is not helped when you leave your apartment and walk outside to the smells of BBQ chicken and squid at 8am!

Thankfully after a quiet couple of months of work and couch time I am back on my feet and can tolerate most of the smells that only an Asian country can throw at you! (Anyone who has been to Asia knows exactly what I am talking about)

The other weird thing about my position at the moment is antenatal care. I'm not entirely sure what the right word for it is but it seems somewhat hypocritical/ ironic that I spend my days teaching newborn care, and am actively involved in the newborn health action plan for Laos while at the same time I fly to Bangkok for my antenatal care. Yep. At least twice in this pregnancy I will fly to Bangkok to be seen and have my tests/ultrasounds that cannot be provided anywhere in Laos to a reasonable quality for Australian standards. Should I be just getting what everyone else here gets? Why am I any different? We are all people of the same world and as lucky and privileged as I feel, I also feel saddened that I have some kind of "golden ticket" when everyone else I work with misses out.

So I will continue to work hard over the next few months to do as much as I can for this country of incredibly kind and caring people. People who try to take my bag off me on ward rounds, offer me a seat everywhere we are at work, and have started bringing snacks like ice-cream and iced ovaltine to afternoon work meetings that they "couldn't possibly finish by themselves!"

And when I am back in Melbourne with my Western health care and state of the art delivery suite I will be thinking of my experiences here and counting myself lucky. In so many ways. Because U will also feel lucky for my experience here and the people I have met.

Melinda xx

aunty visit

Time flies in sleepy Vientiane. I'm not quite sure how, but it does.

It seems Sunday has turned into the best day for potential blogging- quiet streets, many places closed, daddy daughter dates for croissants…

Anyway, it was ages ago that my sister Kate was here for a week long visit. We had a great time, Bea in particular enjoyed having "aunty time."

I felt like we fit a lot in; sightseeing, relaxing and playing at home, dining out. All in all a great week.

Here are some photos to prove it:

Enjoying croissants at Cafe Vanille

A trip to the Buddha Park

Cocktails at the Spirit House- a Vientiane institution

Trying out some of the nicer places to eat in Vientiane

The tower to beat all towers!

Trip review: Phuket

I have been to Thailand on holiday a grand total of 5 times so far in life (lucky girl). There is a lot to enjoy- culture, amazing food, amazing beaches, friendly people, excellent diving. These reasons make it one of the more popular Asian holiday destinations for Australian's.

So when we wanted to plan a week holiday with my parents it was the obvious choice. 

The big question was where in Thailand we would go.

Phuket has never really been on my radar as somewhere I wanted to go in Thailand. I thought it was big, and touristy and that the beaches had been spoilt by tourism. In some ways that still holds true. But it also had a lot of EXACTLY what we were after and was a lot easier to get to and enjoy from where we are in Laos.

Still, even once we decided on Phuket there is a plethora of places to stay. In fact if you go to Agoda and type in Phuket it will tell you there are 1465 hotels to choose from. How do you even begin? 

I spent more hours researching Phuket than I care to let on. It was tricky- we wanted somewhere nice, with a pool and very close to the beach (or on the beach). But we also wanted it to be within a village so that we could leave our resort and eat in other restaurants or explore other shops without having to get in  taxi. Oh, and we wanted the resort to be quite and not next door to a party place. 

In the end we decided on Kamala beach, and more specifically the Sunwing Beach resort. Kamala beach is one beach north of Patong and is known for being a bit quieter but also having a variety of accommodation. Unfortunately the combination of being shoulder season and the recent political unrest in Thailand meant that all of Phuket was pretty quiet and many restaurants in Kamala were closed. 

That said we still managed to find some gems both locally and further afield.

We did two day trips during our 8 day stay. We hired a taxi for a day to take us on a tour of the island. Essentially we went to Phuket aquarium, a few different beaches and a few gorgeous look outs. The other day trip was to Phang Nga Bay to go sea canoeing into some caves and lagoons. We had brilliant weather and everyone (especially bea) enjoyed the canoeing and going into the dark caves and popping out the other side in a lagoon. The trip was topped off for Bea by seeing a monkey outside one of the caves- the sight of it causing her to actually squeal in excitement!

The other days were spent doing a mix of the following: in the pool, at the beach, having a massage, shopping, eating and generally hanging out together. Tough times. 

Anyway, it was a great holiday and we came back feeling refreshed from the soft sand, sea breeze, and fresh seafood.

Sunset walks/runs along the beach are the best aren't they? 

View from a view point on our taxi tour day

White sandy beach stop on our day trip to Phang Nga Bay

Canoeing into this cave and then out the other side into a lagoon

One of the 7 pools at our resort, Sunwing Kamala Beach

Seafood on the beach- what the best holidays are made of!

Sunwing Kamala Beach mascot Lolo, Bea was so excited!

 Life is tough when you have to curl up with Nana on a couch and read some books

We're back!

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all well. Sorry for the hiatus. As I mentioned in my last blog post, we headed off on a family holiday to Phuket with my parents who were on the final leg of a 3 month trip. It was so nice to have a holiday! As much as i love my job here, it is challenging and complex and the medicine, the culture and the responsibility can sometimes feel all encompassing.

Anyway, after 4 months without seeing the ocean, it certainly lived up to expectations. The wind, the salt, the sound of the waves- it was magic! Good for the soul.

I will write more about what we got up to on our trip to Phuket another time but here is a bit of a snippet:

Eating: fresh seafood (so much of it!), fresh fruit

Drinking: nice wine, soda with mint and lime

Smelling: the subtle salt of the ocean, coconut oil as people walk back from the beach after massages

Feeling: Thai massage. Had forgotten how invigorating it can be. The head and shoulders combo was the best! Semi painful, but still the best!

Listening to: Bea squeal when she saw her first wild monkey

Reading: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

It was a great holiday. We got back a week ago but have had mum and dad's company for the week so it has felt like the holiday was extended a wee bit. They left yesterday so we have a bit of post holiday adjusting to do. Don't you find the week after holidays a bit draining? Any tips for post holiday blues?

Its 06:30am and its just me and the computer as the sun rises in Vientiane. Oh. Me,  my computer, and a coffee. Little Bea has had 2 weeks of a 4:1 Adult to child ratio and I have a feeling that this week is going to be pretty demanding.

Check back soon,

Melinda xx

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!

What do you have planned on the weekend? Hopefully something exciting. It has been fun over the past few weeks to follow friends in colder part of the world at the moment and reminisce about evenings with warm cups of tea, woollen blankets and open fires. That seems so far away from our lifestyle at the moment. Despite the rain setting in, it is still hot and humid here and we are finding ourselves with the air con on overnight.

I am pretty excited today because we are off on a week long holiday to Phuket. I've never really had much time for Phuket, but there are some times when you want an easy holiday and this is one of them! We are totally ready for the direct flight, kid friendly resort accommodation and some relaxation with my parents in tow. All of us are super excited to see the ocean again. 4 months without the ocean is a really long time! I will let you know what we thought of this resort type holiday when we get back- it is a first for us!

Thankyou so much for your recent support and comments about the blog. I really enjoy writing it and glad you enjoy reading. Please let me know if there are any particular things you want me to cover. Hopefully after a week of holiday my mind will have the space to dream and i will be back with better blog posts to share!

By the way, anyone have any good holiday reads to recommend? I have been getting back into reading recently and am looking forward to some time by the pool/ beach with my kindle and would love to hear of any good books to add to my list.

Melinda x

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope that you are having an excellent break.

I think it is the first time I have been in a country for Easter where no one has even heard of Easter, and you can't buy an Easter Egg to save yourself. Not even at the Falang/ Western supermarkets. Luckily for us we had a special delivery! Easter Laos style was quite different. It is hot at the moment, really hot. I have been craving ice cold showers at 8am and yesterday the air-conditioning was on by 9am.

The Easter egg hunt occurred in the air-conditioned confines of the apartment. Still the joy of a 2 year old looking through her regular belongings trying to find small foil parcels of goodness is priceless.

They're here!

My parents have arrived. It was a late night arrival so the Bea-Grandparent reunion had to wait till morning. It was so cute to see Bea's face when she heard the knock on the door. To be totally honest she was a bit overwhelmed. However, it didn't take long for her to get into the swing of it and now it is like no time has passed.

They have been here for less than 48 hours but we have already managed to fit in a few sights, cafes, and play sessions. Bea is thrilled with the recent play things that have arrived with Nana and Grandpa. I'm sure we will still have days of playing with cardboard boxes, but it is nice to have a few more items for imaginary play.

No more from me today, i'm off to pick up some rice paper rolls for lunch. But here are some photos to share.

Melinda xx

First visitors

We are pretty excited in this part of the woods at the moment.

We are getting our first visitors.

My mother and father arrive at the end of the week and the “how many sleeps” countdown is on. Bea cannot wait. Yesterday she did little excited jazz hands and beamed a huge smile before yelling “exciiiiiitting!”

We are looking forward to visiting some of the tourist attractions we have been putting off, a few of the French restaurants we have been wanting to try, and generally hanging out.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t also looking forward to the various things arriving with them from the Australian shops. For example, a few more English picture books, a mosquito net that is easier to get in and out of that our current one, and some toys. Bea is going to think that it is Christmas!