One of the best day trips out of KL is the Elephant sanctuary in Kuala Gandar. Isaac is currently fascinated with elephants and is one of his most frequently uttered words so it is a guaranteed winner for him. It is about 1 ½ drive from home and a quick visit can be made enroute to Batu caves which have significant spiritual importance to Hindus.

Climbing the Batu caves 272 steps with toddler is tow is certainly a challenge, particularly with the rubbish left after the Thaipusam festival, celebrating one of the holiest days on the Hindu calendar, which was earlier in the week. The rubbish brings out plenty of scavenging monkeys who brazenly snatch bags from your hand if not careful. We reserved our tickets at the elephant sanctuary and went to the deer park 5 minutes down the road where we hand fed deer, stroked a python, and enjoyed a picnic lunch.

What I love about the elephant sanctuary, unlike many animal related activities in Asia, is that the animals are obviously well looked after. It is free entry, so money making is not the motivation for owners and staff and it shows. Firstly we saw the elephants bathed. After that we were able to help with the feeding either straight into the mouth or via the elephant’s trunk. The obligatory elephant ride followed, and for those with a change of clothes, swimming with the elephants.

Steps to the Batu caves

At the entrance

More stairs to climb

At the deer park

These guys were a little to close for Isaac's liking

He did'nt mind getting up close to the elepants

Riding with Ginalyn, our maid

Halloween photo from last year

I just stumbled across this photo taken at Isaac's kindy last year. I got a tad carried away with the theme and he created quite a stir amongst the others.

The Ultimate Children's Birthday Party

We have been to many children’s birthday parties and also organized one for Isaac during our last year in Malaysia. During this time we have heard legends of the ‘xtreme’ kid’s birthday party. These parties are rumoured to rival Easter show carnivals in their scale and grandeur and according to folklore are talked about through the year by children and adult alike.

Last weekend we were invited to Michael and William’s birthday party who have turned 4 and 12 respectively. At one end of the house was the beautiful, lightly salted pool, with strategically located chilly bins full of beer, enabling pool lounging with beverage in hand, on a 35 degree, typical KL day.

At the other end was the bouncy castle staffed by 2 vigilant supervisors ensuring the safety of the precious cargo. On the veranda was the candy floss maker, equally well staffed to serve the steady queue of kiddies with golden tickets. Directly opposite was a painting corner where various colouring-in activities were offered with artistic guidance from the fine arts degree student paying her way through university. Should any child be bored with the above, a balloon shape-maker accompanied by clown was at hand to conjure up every shape known to a 2 year old nipper.

This kiddy nirvana was interrupted briefly for carefully coordinated and choreographed games arranged by the supreme commander of the party staff who, in keeping with the inclusive age that we live, ensured that all children won something. For the first time ever in the history of children’s party games, no child cried and no one whined the following 1.) ‘I didn’t get a go’, or 2.) ‘no fair’, or 3.) ‘Casper/Ethan/Tommy (insert name) got more than me’.

To keep the little darlings fuelled, a stack of pizza and KFC was readily available to avoid potentially hazardous drops in blood sugar levels, and was topped off with an artistically sculptured cake. Interestingly, the invite stipulated the party was to conclude at 3.00 PM. The reason for which became clear as the time approached and the chilly bin was still well stocked, the pool cool, the weather stifling, and Isaac had only managed 3 lots of candy floss and half a pizza. To avoid the cardinal party sin of overstaying, we made a hasty retreat back to our little condo, where we siestad the afternoon away. We woke up wondering if we had been dreaming……perhaps it is a legend afterall.

Film Review: Changeling

Changeling is one of several current offerings from the director Clint Eastwood and stars the infamous Angelina Jolie who I was surprised to hear, received an Oscar nomination. The discovery of Jolie on the bill usually inspires me to take a wide berth. Perhaps it was those unreal, movie star physical features that preclude her from assuming the role of a normal character. Whatever the reason, her previous work has been ordinary. With a 1920’s setting and regalia however, those characteristics are thankfully understated so as to avoid distraction and her performance is fine.

As often happens when a film is based on true events, there is controversy as to the correctness of the movie version. Regardless, the story is a compelling one, and typical of Eastwoods work in dodging clichéd and predictable plot development. Which is just as well given a 2.5 hour investment.

The look of the film can’t be faulted, with Los Angeles portrayed vividly as a quiet backwater compared to the spaghetti splatter of highways that it is today. Ultimately though, although it contains its fair share of potent moments, the tendency is to pull at the emotion strings too heavily at times.

What have we been up to?

Being Chinese New Year last week, we attended a BBQ at Greg and Adeline’s place in Shah Alam to celebrate the beginning of the year of the ox. The traditional noodle dish shown (the name escapes me) in the photo starts compartmentalized into the different food types and then everyone mixes it up with chopsticks before serving. Tasty to.

Local food is often not the healthiest, if we are talking fat and sugar. It’s generally very hearty and home cooked based though which, apart from MSG, is largely free of additives. A breakfast that we have only very occasionally, for which my arteries are very thankful, are a deep fried, doughy type pastry/bread called yau char kwai or crullers. I confidently predict arteriosclerosis would befall a person who starts the day with these on a regular basis, but guilt aside, these taste great immersed in a strong coffee.

We have been to many children’s birthday parties in Malaysia and the latest was for Sophie and Zachy who have just turned 4. I love piñatas and Isaac loved having a swing. Daniel, the father of Zachy, is a fellow stay-at –home dad, a small fraternity in these parts, and he will be leaving soon for his wife’s new posting in Beirut, Lebanon.

Topical rain storm

My artitic fuzzy on purpose?! shot of the communal mixing

The finished product ready for eating

Very sinfull, with coffee complete with traditional malaysian cup and saucer

Daniel

Sophie and Zachy with their cake

Go fella!

My Favourite Novels of 2008

Most of us want to read more, but for various reasons, usually time poverty, are unable to do so, apart from 15 minutes in bed before the eyelids droop, or the missus wants the light off.

2008 afforded me the opportunity to read, so these are my favourite novels of the year.

‘The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao’ is the second book by Junot Diaz and is written in a street-American-Hispanic dialect, interposed with hundreds of Spanish words and phrases. Do not let this discourage the monolingual reader as this enhances the gravitational pull into the world of Oscar, the geeky, sci-fi, fantasy role playing, 2nd generation Dominican who lives in New York with his mother and sister. Superficially you could be drawn into thinking the story is overly negative, and it does have its dark moments, often darkly comedic. However, the colour and vibrancy of the prose, with larger-then-life characters, and wonderful storytelling, ensures a memorable read. This book deservedly won the 2007 National Book Critics Circle award.

My ‘Stephen King Commercial Hit of the Year’ award goes to ‘The Time Traveller’s Wife’ by Audrey Niffenegger. With a great story to tell a writer is half way there, (usually, although ‘On Chesil Beach’ by Ian McEwan is sparse in this regard, but still a classy piece of work). Niffenegger takes a promising concept, adds some empathy for characters, a few sprigs of believable romance, and a huge dollop of well crafted plot construction and produces a cracking read. It seems that I am not the only one as this has become a best seller, with the film to be released later this year (for which I have my concerns, but that’s another story).

Finally, ‘Unaccustomed Earth’ by Jhumpa Lahiri, is the only book of my triumvirate, Lina and I disagreed as to its quality. I love good short stories. There is a certain satisfaction in reading a story in one sitting. The short stories of Unaccustomed Earth are all interdependent, written in a beautifully simple style, and communicate the difficulties present Bengali intergenerational migrant families. Lahiri explores the conflicting ideals, ideas, and outlooks from all sides, and is clearly an author who writes what she knows. A very good read.

2009 Academy Award Best Picture Nominees

The Oscar Academy nominations have been announced and this has inspired a visit to the DVD store. Most of the nominated films are available on copied DVD with a 10RM (NZ$5.00) price tag. The quality varies as one would expect with illegal product however these establishments run an on-the-surface, transparent and reputable business, promising money back guarantee if not satisfied.

Now let’s get the moral dilemma/issue of supporting contraband art commerce out of the way. I would love to see all of these films (correction – MOST) at the cinema, however, due to a combination of factors such as local taste, censorship, and glut of ridiculous Chinese slapstick comedies, their availability is limited.

I now feel cleansed.

To the films themselves, we have thus far seen Milk, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, and Slumdog Millionaire but have yet to see Frost/Nixon. All, with the exception of Benjamin Button, are excellent movies. The writer of Forest Gump also wrote ‘Button’, and it shows. Not that Gump is a bad movie, just not Oscar worthy, - another point of commonality with Button. Too stylized, grandiose, try hard epical, with a corny narrative, this is a serious movie that tries too hard to be serious. Unlike ‘The Reader’ which captures the perfect tone for the delicate and weighty subject matter, allowing the viewer to reach their own moral and ethical conclusions on the participant’s considerable dilemmas. Couple that with Winslett’s star turn, this film should come close. ‘Milk’ also relies on a great performance by its star actor, Sean Penn, and paces itself well, capturing the stigma associated with homosexuality 30 years ago. A worthy nominee we thought.

Then there is Slumdog Millionaire. If you love movies that take you on a journey in the multiple sense of the word, then look forward to a fun couple of hours. With the hype, I was ready to be underwhelmed. I was not, and would not disagree if this won best picture. It follows the current trend of great stories, both written and visual, coming out of India (Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga) and reaching a western audience. Director Danny Boyle can tell a gritty story with a silver lining, as we saw in Trainspotting, and it doesn’t get much grittier then the slums of Bombay. It comes together in a moving, magic little film with fantastic acting from an ‘unknown’ cast.