A trip to Malaysia

On Thursday morning, bright and early, we headed for Malaysia with a group of families from church.  First we went through customs, which is different from the U.S./Canada border crossing in that you go through Singapore customs first and have your passports checked, then you drive a little ways down the road, and then you go through Malaysia customs and again have your passports checked.  The roads in Malaysia were lined with palm trees, often as far as we could see in all directions.  At one point, some monkeys ran across the road in front of us.  That's something you don't see every day!  We thought it was great!

Our first stop was a crocodile farm.  Here, a tour guide came along with us and fed the crocodiles.  He would tease them with whole chickens held just out of their reach so that they would jump up and try to get them.  After everyone got all the pictures we wanted, he let the crocodiles eat!  

Before we left the crocodile farm, everyone was given a chance to hold a baby crocodile.  My husband went first, and Eric went last--but the crocodile suddenly went crazy in his hands and tried to escape, so Eric's turn was very short! :-)  Then we got some group photos by some crocodile skulls.

After this we headed to a nearby seafood restaurant.  This was unlike any restaurant we'd ever seen, but the food was good for those who like that kind of thing. ;-)  I had some good chicken and noodles.  I'm still not a rice fan, but the noodles I've had here are good!

The outside of the restaurant

Inside the restaurant--You can see the waitress by the dishes, 

stored out in the open right next to the tables.

The view from our seats 

The restaurant was open to the outside, as many things are here.  As long as it's 

covered to protect from rain, they don't ever have to worry about it being too cold here! :-)

After lunch we went to an ostrich farm.  There, we were given a presentation on ostriches, including how large their eggs are.

After the presentation we were allowed to feed the ostriches, touch them, and even ride them.  Megan and Eric were the brave ones who rode the ostriches.  Megan absolutely loved it.  She still talks about riding the Bouwkamps' horse at our church picnic this past year.  Now she can add riding an ostrich to her list!

After this we checked into our resort, where we had breakfast overlooking the South China Sea the next morning.

At the resort there was a waterpark, so we spent a couple hours at that in the morning, before checking out and eating lunch in a Malaysian kampong.  This is a little village with some restaurants and shops on the main street. A couple of the men from church told us that this is how Singapore was when they were growing up.  Things have changed so much in Singapore in the last 25 years!

Our final stop in Malaysia was a fruit farm.  Here we were given a tour that showed many of the different kinds of fruits that grow here, including bananas, water apples, jackfruit, mangosteen, dragon fruit, and passion fruit.  And last but not least--durian!  For those who remember my husband's emails from Singapore last year, he described durian this way:  "If a pineapple went out and got tattoos and a mohawk, it would come home a durian."  Now you can see for yourself!

Touch carefully--it's sharp!!

I can almost guarantee that this is the closest Eric will ever come to eating durian!

Finally, a few more random pictures:

Emily enjoying coconut juice at lunchtime, straight from the coconut

Typical Malaysian bathrooms.  "Wow," is all I'd better say. :-)  We did 

manage to find "Western toilets" almost everywhere!

Oceanfront property!

We had a good time with the group from church.  One of the young people rode with us, and we enjoyed singing Psalter numbers together as we rode along.  The drives were very beautiful, with all the palm trees along the highways.  And now we are back in our flat in Singapore, and it feels like home. :-)