HO HO HO and 12 BOTTLES OF WINE...

I’ve been dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones I used to know, and for the first time since 1962 Mulhouse delivered!

On the 23^rd Amy and I celebrated PART 1 of the Alsace family extravaganza; a trip to Strasbourg to visit my mums cousin and the beautiful Christmas markets, all 12 of them. We explored the plethora of mulled wine and pretzel stores and enjoyed the Christmas decoration and hat stalls. My mum’s cousin, Guy, and his lovely wife, Annie, had invited Amy and I over for a Christmas lunch. It was a delicious meal, as always and I had a fantastic time catching up with them. We learnt fraternal (non-identical) twins in France are called ‘faux-jumeaux’, or ‘fake twins’!!

Back in Mulhouse we checked out the awesome Mulhouse Christmas markets and met up with my family that had come up to celebrate Christmas for PART 2 of the Alsace family extravaganza! Together we had a lovely meal of mushroom soup, 6 types of cheese, and of course, Fois Gras! Delish!! As Grandma no longer gets out of bed we all went to her room and sang Christmas carols for her, in English German Italian and Latin... Amy and I were pretty much singing LALALALA the whole time! Even though Grandma didn’t recognise 2/3 of the people in the room she thoroughly enjoyed it so it was definitely worth the embarrassment!

On Christmas eve we woke up to beautiful fresh POW! A sight that will never cease to make me happy! Lolo, Amy, the dogs and I made a gorgeous snow lady, Shatzela, and had snow fights while hard working napped. For Christmas dinner we were kindly invited to celebrate with Lolos parents and family. I knew it would be a bit of a challenge for Amy to not be able to communicate with this crazy bunch, but maybe that was in her favor anyway!! I did my best to interpret but all was made easier thanks to the ‘2 bottles’ rule; once we hit the 3^rd bottle of wine my family pledged to start speaking English, a great laugh for both sides. Even my famously grumpy great Aunt got into the spirit! For dinner my Aunt Martine prepared a sensational Alsacien feast incorporating Fois Gras, Bäckeoffe (a casserole with potatoes and three types of meat...), a huge cheese platter and 3 types of dessert. And the whole night my uncle Pierrot was on hand offering 3 types of Alsacien and Vallon wines.. Perfection!

My Aunty Kiki had a moment where she snorted with laughter, so hard and loud that the whole table stopped talking. As we all began to laugh she also continued snorting – egging on our laughter! It all got so much she had to move away from the table as tears of laughter rolled down our cheeks. Amy and I now call any moments of uncontrollable, and let’s face it inevitable, snorting ‘doing a Kiki’, please help spread the word by incorporating it into your vocabulary!

After 2 hours of present exchanging and ‘Kikis’ it was time for us to go home and rest in time for us to go home and rest in time for PART 3 of the Alsace family extravaganza; lunch at Sandra’s sisters house. However we came home to a shit mess as Siska had gotten in to Amys room and devoured a whole bag of chocolates, wrappers and all.. More on that later!

On Christmas day we got even more snow, just enough to make the roads too scary for me to drive... But enough to stop us from going to Christmas drinks! Sandra’s family is about as mental (in a good way) as mine so we all matched quite well! We ate Fois Gras, even had BBQd seafood, Sandra vomited after tasting an oyster and Laurent ate one and took it in his stride! Between 8 of us we drank well over 12 bottles of cremant, red and white wine, before testing out the new beer barrel that Santa delivered!

We had the 2 bottle rule again which was good for Amy, especially as we got through the 2^nd bottle in record time! It was such a fantastic evening with impromptu dancing, lots of laughter and translating, and even at one stage an indoor snow fight! Looking back at the photos it seems we also had a Hat catwalk happening, I rocked the gangsta sequins, obviously!

The saddest thing was Francois’ disbelief at how much Amy and I could drink, he kept remarking on how well we held our alcohol... We did Aussies worldwide proud apparently! And in true Christmas day fashion we were home and in bed by 8.30pm!! Ah busy days!

Our last day in France was a great day for nursing hangovers and packing bags. We had a situation with Siska vomiting everywhere... It became clear very quickly that it was the plastic wrappers from the pack of chocolates she inhaled on Christmas eve! Let’s just say cleaning up litres of Rottweiler vomit when you are hung-over is less than pleasant!

So Christmas is over and done for another year, I’m so glad I go to fit in a traditional French Christmas, but I am looking forward to a hot Christmas with beach and bathers and PRAWNS!!

Joyeaux Noel

Le Tour de France

For the three weeks prior to Christmas I embarked on my own Tour de France, minus the cycling.

I figured this is my last trip to France for a few years so it was time to visit all my favourite family friends. Plus I am broke so bunking with relatives and friends is a perfect way to stick to the old budget.

First stop was my Home away from Home, Mulhouse. The whole purpose of my trip back to Europe was for my Grandmas 92^nd birthday, that and one last cold white Christmas complete with mulled wine and snow! Getting back in to Mulhouse was awesome, I have been staying with my mum’s cousins son, but for all intents and purposes I refer to him as my cousin, Lolo and his lovely wife Sandra. Staying at their place is always fun, between walking the Rottweilers, Greys Anatomy marathons, Sandra’s fabulous cooking and basketball I never get bored. I have my international licence and they’ve been kind enough to let me use one of their cars. The first day I drove it was in the snow, and it took me a bit to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. I still accidentally set off the windscreen wipers when meaning to indicate! However I, and more importantly, the car, are still fine so I am happy with that.

Together Sandra and I made my first Couronne, a wreath with four candles, 1 to be lit every Sunday before Christmas. We have also been busy sampling the mulled wine at the Mulhouse Christmas Markets... YUM

Seeing my grandma has been fantastic. To say she is in a good shape would be a lie but she did recognise me and still has her wits about her enough to sass me every now and then. All in all, I’m very glad I’ve made the decision to stick around France for a while.

Next stop on LTDF was my uncle Yann’s place in Corbonod, a wee little village on the climb to the Alps. The day I set off they had up to 50cm of snow where he is (beat that Mt Buller!!) and I was certain my train would be cancelled. It seems the travelling gods where in my favour, of the 40 trains on the departures board mine was one of only 3 trains that wasn’t delayed or cancelled. BOOM! There was so much snow that when I got off the train I had snow up to my knees... good thing I wore my snow booties!

I spent a lovely week with the family going for walks catching up with my cousins and sleeping!! We celebrated St Nicholas together, a party for children, baking treats and making sweets and cooking little Brioche Men (aka Manalan). I also went out to Parves to stay with our friends Martine and Patrick for more of the same!

Next stop was Lyon to stay with my fabulous lady cousins and to catch my favourite Frenchman, Sylvain. It was particularly fantastic to catch up with Sylvain, so so far from wee little Merrijig where we originally me and worked together, such a small world!!

In Lyon they were celebrating the Festival of Lights, something they do every year. In 1643 when Lyon was struck by the plague the elders of the community promised to pay tribute to the Virgin Mary if the town was spared. As the death toll was minimal the Lyonaise now put tea lights and candles on their windowsills on the 8^th of December every year, to thank the powers that be and remember the horrors that were the plague.

Next stop after Lyon was Peronne, a town near Lille in Northern France, to see the Dannis, some very close friends of my grandmothers. Nadine had told me to catch a train to St Quentin, but I understood Cinquante Un, which sounds exactly like St Quentin but translates in French to 51. So I spent hours searching for the station 51, whooopsy! Good thing we figured out before I left or I would have been in a bit of a pickle... The joys of being bi-lingual I guess!

On my way to Peronne I was lucky enough to time a lunch with one of the greatest women I know, Deb Barron. We met and worked together at La Cave in London and have managed to keep in contact. Deb is from California but has lived in Paris for years and until recently would split her time between Paris and London. She has created a cheese and wine based tour company called Domaines et Terroirs, http://www.domaines-terroirs.com/, taking people through gourmet regions of France! It was so fun to see her and I look forward to the day when the tours kick off because it is such a great concept!

It was so fantastic to get to Peronne and see the Dannis, they are so warm and welcoming and so openly fond of my Grandma it is beautiful. The kind of friends I hope to still have when I’m 80! Peronne is a town that adores Australia thanks to our Allied Troops protecting the township in 1916 and 1918. I’ve actually written about this in a separate blog so click on the link http://angellemills.blogspot.com/2011/01/lest-we-forget.html to read more about that!

Roget and Nadine also took me to Amiens, a town with quite an extraordinary Cathedral laser show. At 7pm the facade is lit using lasers showing the true colours, the detail is extraordinary!

On the way back through Paris, I met up with my uncle Jean Marc who I don’t see very often. It was nice to see him, if only so I could report back to Grandma on how he is doing!

All in all it was a fantastic couple of weeks and I am truly lucky to have such lovely family and friends! I’m looking forward to having a place of my own sometime soon so I return the hospitality!

Lest We Forget

I don’t agree with war and I honestly don’t understand why one would enlist in the armed forces. Patriotism? Money? Job Security? Death Wish?

Don’t get me wrong, some of my closest friends are enlisted and I respect that decision but it doesn’t stop my heart from skipping a beat when I see updates on the news.

At school we learn about WW1 and WW2, wars that tore our country apart while not being of any actual threat to our shores. We learn about the Anzacs, Hitler, the Kokoda trail, land mines, and chemical warfare. We also learn that our involvement in these wars has been for little reason other than to keep our allies on side.

And it’s not to say I’m not patriotic. I don’t have any Australian descendants but that has never stopped me from attending Anzac Day Dawn services year after year. I throw Australia day parties and now matter what country I’m in I always observe a minutes silence on November 11^th. But I think it is the French part of me that can relate to war a bit better.

My mum comes from a part or France deeply affected by WW2. Her godmother was held as a Prisoner of War and was freed only because when the war came to an end she was used as political leverage. My uncle was born during WW2, at a time when Alsace was German territory. His name is Jean-Marc, but had to be named Johannes Marcus to keep the German doctors at bay.

My Grandmother, who can’t even remember what she ate for breakfast, clearly and cheekily recounts the story of her courtship with my Grandad. Alsace was occupied by the Nazis, she was an 18-19yr old teacher forced to teach in German. The locals were forbidden to speak French but in a subtle attempt to defy the Nazis the future Mr and Mrs Gerber would walk the streets talking in French. They were caught by the head of the local Nazi troops, if it were not for the fact that he was trying to gain local supporters at the time they probably would have been sent to a POW camp for their insolence. The same man was imprisoned after the war and wrote to my Grandma from the prison, begging her to send him some food as he claimed to be famished. She sent him a large package of food much to the disgust of a local journalist who wrote a whole article about how some people seemed to have forgotten where they come from and which side they were on, even the wife of a Pastor.

I recently got back from a visit to Peronne, in Northern France, a part of France where Australians are worshiped. In 1918 it was the Australian allied troops that freed the town of Peronne and surrounding villages, and during the 4 yrs our troops were stationed in northern France they earned a level of respect and appreciation from the local French people that the Allied British and American forces would never receive.

All over Picardy (Northern France) there are huge murals and signs bearing ‘N’oublions jamais l’Australie’- Do not forget Australia. In Villers Bretonneux there is a Franco Australian museum, situated above the Victoria School, a gift from the children of the state of Victoria (in Australia) to the children of Villers Bretonneux as proof of their love and good will toward France and in memory of the 1200 Aus men lost in the battles of freedom for this town.

So at the end of the day, as opposed as I am to war it can’t take away from the excellent work our troops are doing, for whatever reason they choose to do it. I will continue to attend Anzac day ceremonies and Australia day parades, I will carry on to observe a minutes silence on the 11^th of November every year and I will keep on supporting my friends who are enlisted.

It was said of the Australian Troops ‘the horrors of war do not rule out moments of relaxation and good humour in the camps’, a testament to the attitude held by our troops.

Just outside Peronne there is a large statue of an Aussie digger ‘protecting’ the town since 1918 and on a nearby tree a visitor has scratched ‘good on ya boys’.

Couldn’t have put it better myself.

They shall grow not old,
As we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
Nor the years condemn,
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT WINTER (in Europe)

SNOW – the silence before the snow falls, snow ball fights, fresh snow, the sounds of crisp snow crunching beneath snugly oversized snow boots, snow capped mountains, dogs that love to eat snow balls, crystallized flowers, building snow man, snow days in London, sledging – especially the home made sleds, long walks through the snow speckled forests

HOT TOTTIES – red mulled wine, white mulled wine, mulled cider, Glug Wine, hot Pimms, hot chocolate, steaming cup of coffee, warm milk and honey, egg nog, hot whiskey, Irish coffee

WINTER STYLING – beanies, gloves, scarves, leg warmers, toe socks, ski socks, thermal socks, thermal underwear, leather boots, ski boots, multi coloured, double layered, wool, cashmere, cheap, expensive, vintage, matching, fingerless, berets, leather, fake leather, balaclavas, neck socks, ear muffs, mittens, pom poms, badges, brooches

CHRISTMAS MARKETS – Mulled wine, bratwurst, churros, cheap Christmas hats, more mulled wine, cold salesmen, random gifts, dogs dressed in Santa outfits (seriously people...), carolling, outdoor fires, cheese and charcuterie stalls, Santa’s parade, fireworks

ROSY CHEEKS – although the cold can be so bitter you fear losing fingers and toes Rosy cheeks and Rudolph noses add a little colour to a dreary day.

WOOD FIRES – collecting wood, trying to split logs (bahaha no good at that one..), the smell of burning pine, discussions that escalate into arguments about who is better at building a fire, sitting around the fire with a hot tottie and blanket, watching the fire die out and the incredible change in colours, smoke, chimney sweeps

CHEESE (or chocolate) FONDUE – pfft... Need I say more?

SKIING – michelin man jackets, bum padded ski pants, learning to walk in ski boots, learning to juggle skis and poles, funky goggles, BEND ZEE KNEES, snow plough, pizza... French fries – pizza.... French fries, thermals, skidoos, après ski bar hopping, mastering the chair lifts, gaining speed (obviously post ACL tear this is now all a thing of the past for me)

CHRISTMAS – family, friends, laughter, playing, collecting Christmas hats, eating so much you have to pop the top button of your jeans (Don’t tease, we’ve all been there), Santa, the reindeer, baking Christmas goodies, Christmas card photos, Christmas decorations, dressing the Christmas tree, checking out the neighbours decorations, Christmas lights... Everywhere, Christmas carols (although by Dec 10^th I’ve normally had about enough), finding that perfect gift, helping make cookies for Santa and getting up in the middle of the night to help them disappear, church bells, Santa outfits, Elves, cheesy Christmas movies, Christmas baubles, watching the pile under the Christmas tree grow, mince pies

And of course, the first glorious days of SPRING – when the temperature goes over 10 degrees for the first time in 5 months, packing away the jackets and pulling out the thongs and swimwear, the smell of freshly cut grass, blossoming flowers

The tiny pocket of Dentures and cheese...

When looking for somewhere off the beaten track it is hard to look past glorious Liechtenstein. That is, of course, assuming you are among the misfortunate percentage of the worlds population that has never heard of it. Most people who have heard of Liechtenstein automatically describe it as Europe’s equivalent of an off shore account. To the thousands of cyclists and hikers that pass through every year it is a perfect resting point between the stunning Dolomites and the equally dramatic Swiss Alps. However to me, an average backpacker with a passion to see the world, Liechtenstein was an unexpected yet splendid vacation.

I had traveled to Switzerland, to catch up with friends Anna, Gio and Katherine from Australia, for a little road trip. On a whim we decided to hop in the car and head out on to the open road. Being the middle of the summer holidays we found ourselves with no booked accommodation for the night so using my trusty ‘Lonely Planet – Europe on a Shoe String’ guide we were able to find a vacant hostel in Liechtenstein and although none of us new anything about it, we decided to head there and check it out. It was definitely a bonus having a car and a Satellite navigation system, getting there by train and bus would have been a bit tricky.

The drive through eastern Switzerland is absolutely stunning. The auto-route is nestled in between the majestic Swiss alps and winds through and around various tunnels and rivers, with the occasional waterfall cascading down a mountain edge.

The first impression of Liechtenstein is quite modest, it is quite easy to drive half way through and not even know you have left Switzerland. Both the language and the currency are the same (German and Swiss Franc), and the country side is equally beautiful.

We actually didn’t realize we had arrived until we had already crossed half the country, not hard to do considering Liechtenstein is only 24.6km long and 12.4km wide at its largest extension.

The HI Hostel there is as good as can be expected, the location is excellent, only a fifteen minute walk into the center of the capital city, Vaduz. They are a bit pedantic about lights out timing but it was a great venue to get wasted on Prugna. Dangerous dangerous stuff!

The walk into town is lovely and takes you past the outdoor pool/sports center and miniature golf. While the walk through the city can take less than ten minutes there are quite a few things to do along the way. The streets are adorned with a wide range of modern art and sculptures that would impress any passers by. The European style sidewalk dining is fantastic as it gives you a great excuse to grab a cup of coffee, some crepes and do some people watching. If you are lucky you might spot one of the royals!

While walking down the main street it is hard not to stop and have a look at the custom cigar shop, or drop into any one of the fantastic children’s toy shops. Vaduz also houses one of the worlds most extensive stamp museums, as well as fantastic National Museum that fills you with a fulfilling knowledge of the country’s fascinating past and the history behind the Royal Family.

The locals are fiercely proud of their royal family. Rightly so considering the family is worth approximately 3.3 billion pound sterling!! Every year, on the 15^th of August, the Prince invites all residents, all 38,000 of them, and guests to celebrate the National Holiday. The party is held in the palace, starting in the castle grounds and moving next door to the Castle Meadow as the day moves on. All the best foods and drinks are offered and the Royal Family puts on a festival of fireworks, musical entertainment and dance shows. There is no official closing time, the party has been known to go all night long!

The 15^th of August is a great time to visit, not only to join in the party, but also to explore the palace grounds. It is the one day of the year that the grounds are open to the public. For the rest of the year you’ll have to be happy with an outside view.

The walk up to the palace from Vaduz is like a miniature adventure trail. There were lots of snails, a weird looking red speckled frog, a cute but dead mole, the cat that killed the mole, squirrels and little birdies… I was disappointed that we didn’t encounter a St Bernard!!

After exploring the city I suggest taking a drive up to Malbun which is the local snow field. I was such a beautiful drive, a little curvey but fun! It only takes fifteen minutes and you have basically crossed all of Liechtenstein!!

Obviously it wasn’t covered in snow but it was still very cold and you can see how amazing the slopes would be! Taking the ski lift up to the top of the slopes provided a fantastic view of Austria, Liechtenstein and even through to Switzerland. Stop and have a coffee at the Brasserie but don’t get to jumpy on the trampoline or you might fall down into Austria!! About 65 percent of the Liechtenstein is mountains, this is why there are over 400km of walking and hiking tracks to be discovered. Malbun being a great place to start.

Whether you want to check out the worlds largest producer of dentures or have a tub of UHT milk that actually comes from Australia, Liechtenstein is the perfect getaway for those who want to stay somewhere unique. Treat yourself and indulge in this little slice of heaven, tucked away in the far eastern corner of Western Europe. You might surprise yourself.

Jane Doe

Jane Doe has spent $2500 AUD on airfares, another $1000 on insurance and clothes, sold everything she owns, quit her job and packed a suitcase.

She has boarded the plane, (didn’t forget her passport), said goodbye to her family, flown for 8hrs, had a one hour stop-over and flown for another 13 hours.

Twenty-two hours, 3 in flight meals, 7 in flight movies and no showers later Jane Doe has finally reached her destination.

For most people this sounds like a nightmare, but to any nomad who is out there to see the world, it is just the niggly beginning of an adventure that might lead them through cobbled streets in Prague, under bridges along the river Siene in Paris or onto an ice skating rink in Luxembourg.

Jane Does first big overseas trip will be pretty daunting. She’ll miss a train, run out of cash on a Sunday afternoon in an ATM free city and be yelled at by a disgruntled local. She will miss her family and friends (although Facebook and Skype will make it easier), she will come to appreciate the eccentricities of homeless people and she will learn to smile less at strangers.

Jane might go on a contiki tour, she most definitely will run into people she knows along the way and eventually she will run out of money and have to make a decision between finding work in a random country or moving home. Of course this might be dependent on that niggly piece of paperwork, the Visa. She may even have to pull off a sham marriage to stay in the country of her dreams.

She will lose friends, but will realize that some friendships are stronger than steel. She will make new friends, travel friends and work friends. She might fall in and out of love, repeatedly, and in multiple languages. Her suitcase will double in size and her Lonely Planet guide will be battered.

Only one thing is certain and it is that Jane Doe will change, maybe for the better maybe for the worse. She will learn and see things that other people might only dream of. Most importantly she will learn to appreciate the friends and family that she made along the way and the friends and family that will welcome her with open and understanding arms if, and when, she goes home.

Malaysia Part Two

After my week of relaxing and eating on Penang it was time to head to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. However it should not be seen as an accurate representation of the rest of Malaysia, those of you who have been to Bangkok, Dublin or any major capital city for that matter, would know what I mean.

It is overpriced, the drivers are mental, it is smelly and hideously polluted. Everyone is out to make a dollar (or Ringitt if we are being correct) and no one wants to help anyone.

The metro is actually a necessity to get from A to B, as crossing the roads is a hazard to oneself. I personally became a great fan of the taxi service. Cheap, fast and efficient especially for those of us with bung knees that are not coping so well!

I actually felt frightened walking alone at night for the first time in a long time and thanks to a psychotic masseuse who bruised my back I now have a slight phobia of massage therapists.

I am not, however, one to dwell on the negative. Glass half full etc and so forth. So I will admit that I was hot and bothered and this may have put a ‘çranky’ haze over everything for me. There are definitely some great things to do and see in and around KL but I guess like any place you visit you have to make the best of a bad situation.

My hostel, for one, was amazing. Owned and run by an Iranian guy and his (gorgeous guitar playing) cousin, the hostel was everything you’d expect and much more than you’d dare to hope for in Asia. Cheap, clean, safe and friendly.

Around the corner from the hostel is Bukit Bitang, the famous shopping mall strip. Along this street there are at least 10 huge shopping centres, hawker markets and loads of massage/foot reflexology/fish spa clinics.

On my last afternoon in KL I decided to treat myself to a pamper afternoon, fish spa followed by foot reflexology and topped off with a head neck and shoulders massage. To truly understand the experience I had read this blog http://angellemills.blogspot.com/2010/11/massage-from-hell.html. In short it was the worst massage experience I have ever had in my life.

The markets in KL are brilliant. Petaling Street Night markets are a bargainer’s heaven. Everything you could need from sunnies and shoes to nunchucks and pirate DVD’s all on one strip. You do have to be careful though, as soon as you show interest they consider you sold and will follow and yell at you until you make a sale. I had to slap one guy to get him to let go of my arm!

Food wise KL is not too bad. A lot more expensive than Penang, I was relieved to discover they had a Starbucks near my hostel. I was getting a bit sick of having rice and noodle dishes for breakfast lunch and dinner! I did also discover ‘You Tiao’, a flaky pastry puff thingy, almost like a Malaysian version of Churros but not as greasy. All this served with a nice cold glass of fresh sweetened soybean milk. MmMM

Seeing as I was clearly not that impressed by KL itself I opted to get out of the city a bit. I went to the bird sanctuary in the city park and had lunch at the restaurant overlooking the park. It was nice to see a bit of greenery and quite interesting having birds visit me and join me at the table while eating. Cheeky!

Close to the park there is the National Mosque. I had struck up quite an interest in Islam while I was in Penang so I decided to check it out. Upon arriving at the mosque tourist women are given a hooded cloak to wear, designed for respect, but I found it good to ‘get in the mood’. I had the opportunity to speak to a few of the sisters who helped me to better understand Islam and its different parameters. They explained the difference between Burqa's and the full Niqab, why they wear it and why certain woman choose the different extremes. They also showed me a tree of the Islam, Jewish and Christian roots and explained how a lot of them actually stem from the same men.

Tres Interesting.

I also decided to head out to Shah Alam to visit the Blue Mosque, the largest Mosque in the southern hemisphere. There I met a man who was a little too radical for my liking. He took my inquisitiveness as an indication that I wanted to join his faith and was quite insistent. He sang the call to prayer to me about 5 times.. Intense

Close to Shah Alam are the Batu Caves, quite an impressive set of caves. The caves themselves are probably not the key tourist attraction, there is however a HUGE statue of some goddess that looks quite incredible. Also once you have climbed the 272 odd steps to the top you are greeted by a school of cheeky (really cheeky) monkeys. The monkeys definitely made it worthwhile for me. They were so freaking cute! There were lots of little baby ones and they were all scavenging for food and mucking around. It took me about an hour to walk back down the steps as there was just so many on them playing around, it was adorable. I must admit, however, that I had a few moments of fear when they got a little too close, I haven’t had my rabies shot yet.. hahah Whoops

Next time I go to Malaysia I will probably by-pass KL, or stay one night just for a hit of You Tiao and a stint of shopping at the Petaling markets. All in all I had a good time but am looking forward to returning to explore more of this diverse country.