Phuket

Thailand was awesome!  It was a huge goal of mine to ride an elephant in Thailand and I was so excited to get to do it!  We did another sore excursion in Phuket that took us to an Elephant Camp where we watched a baby elephant show, a monkey show and of course, take an elephant ride.

So, we made the mistake of not eating lunch before we left for this trip, and so when the took us to a Cashew Factory we were starving. We skipped right over the history, and nut demos and went right for the free samples.  We sat and shared a lunch of wasabi cashews and a coke. 

Next we went to Phuket's largest and most sacred temple, Chalong Temple. 

I really wanted some thai food while we were actually in Thailand, so we walked up and down the main street along the beach until we saw a place we liked.  After dinner I wanted to put my toes in the sand and test the water (it was super warm!) and we had a nice evening walk down the beach.  It just so happened that the locals were celebrating the kings birthday and launching candle luminary parashoots into the air and setting off fireworks.  It was almost too good to be true.  So beautiful! 

I completely loved Phuket and I wish we had had more time here! 

Last stop is Hong Kong.

Kuala Lumpur

For Malaysia we decided to do a shore excursion that took us from where we were docked in Port Klang over to Kuala Lumpur by taking a 1 1/2 hour bus ride.

The first stop was the Batu Caves. This place was beautiful, but the best part for me were the monkeys running around everywhere!  The Batu Caves consists of three main caves and a number of smaller ones.  To get to the top you walk up the 272 steps to the top cave where there is a Hindu Shrine.

 

They took us to visit The Royal Selangor pewter factory. To Independence Square, a square where important events are held. We went up to the observation deck of the world's fourth tallest communication tower, the KL Tower.  Lastly we got to see the magnificent Petronas Twin Towers, the tallest building in the world until 2003.

KL Tower

Petronas Twin Towers

I fell in total love with this pony in front of the KL tower. 

Also in front of the KL Tower were these awesome birds.

We couldn't resist.  Ended up being a day very full of animals!

Next stop is Thailand!

Cruising

We had a great first cruise experience.  We went with Royal Caribbean on the Legend of the Seas out of Singapore.  It took us to Malaysia, Thailand and back to Singapore. 

 The boat was great.  We upgraded to a little larger room with a king bed and window and I'm really glad we did.  It was great getting to see out! 

The boat seemed to always have food available somewhere.  I love ordering room service and on the boat it's free!  I ordered cookies and milk one night before bed and I thought it was pretty much the best thing ever.  We ate a ton and the food all day long and it was all great.  I'm not a big buffet person, so we ate in the restaurant most often.  My favorite night was the formal night.

We had a great time reading and relaxing by the pool.  Playing put put golf and talking strolls around the deck.  The boat had bar after bar of fun places to drink, a casino, fun shows to watch and even a rock wall.  Lots to do and see. 

Next post is our visit to Kuala Lumpur!

Singapore!

Since our cruise left out of Singapore we decided to arrive a few days early to check out the city.  Unfortunately our flight was delayed and so we missed our next flight in Hong Kong and we had to sit in the airport until our flight at 2am.  Sucked!  And so we ended up landing at 7am the next day, totally exhausted.  Our hotel was super nice and as much as we wanted to get out and see Singapore we had to get some rest.  We slept until noon and then finally got out and about.

I really wanted to go to a nature reserve where you could see wild monkeys.  Well, we hiked up and down the dang reserve and didn't see a single one!  Oh well, at least we got in a good hike.

 

 

 After walking around downtown a little bit we went back to our hotel to get ready for a really fancy dinner at the "boat restaurant."  It's a fabulous restaurant at the top of a fancy hotel.  We got there early and had drinks out on the deck with stunning views of Singapore.  And then went inside for one of the best meals I've ever had!  I highly suggest making a trip to this place for at least a drink if you don't want to run a close to $300 dinner bill (the restaurant requires at least $100 be spent per person!).  It was worth it!  We had an incredible night.  So lucky! 

The next day we were off to the cruise ship!  Cruise boat post is next!