things we did in malaysia

Landed in Kuala Lumpur at midnight.
Got upgraded to the "Chairman Suite" (2 stories, extra rooms/doors for security, a treadmill, full kitchen, 12-person dining table, etc.) because the rest of the hotel was booked and Matt has "special status."
Ran around the suite getting lost, taking photos, and screaming, "whoa, come check this out!"
Walked to a night market.
Ordered dinner by pointing at whatever looked good.
Ate in the rain on a patio.
Val commented on how dangerous the wet tiles looked.
Matt ignored her, then slipped, tried to brace himself with a plastic table, crashed down to the street with table and chair. (No blood, just blood blisters.)
Took a shower while gazing out the window at the Petronas Towers.
Strolled through city park in KL.
Toured Petronas Towers.
Ate soup dumplings and drank boba smoothies.
Paid to pee by squatting over a hole in the ground.
Took subway/skyrail to Chinatown.
Haggled with hawkers for high-quality fake watches.
Ran through sudden downpour, found shelter under tarp of street vendor.
Ate pork noodles, best meal of Malaysia, for $1.50.
Taxi to Lake Gardens.
Toured Bird Park, the largest free-flight aviary in the world.
2 hour taxi ride back to hotel and then to airport, in which the taxi driver interviewed Val about Barack Obama's life story and the allure of NYC.
Flew to Langkawi.
Laid on beach, read a book. Repeated this.
Matt worked on his computer way too much, unfortunately.
Went kayaking around the bay and through a fishing village.
Went swimming in the ocean.
Went swimming in the pool.
Enjoyed the swim-up pool bar.
Played ping-pong.
Val read, Matt worked, as we enjoyed the sunset on our veranda.
Heard, then saw, about 20 monkeys fighting in the trees.
Watched a baby monkey take a huge (literal) leap of faith as he tried to follow his mom from one tree to another.
Had a lovely dinner on the boardwalk overlooking a small beach, ate big fat Australian steaks and fresh salad -- not something we get in Dhaka!
Hiked up 720 steps into the jungle.
Climbed a big net leading up to a tightrope through the canopy.
Rock climbed & rappelled.
Flew through the jungle on a zip-line.
Hiked back down on a thin, minimally-marked path in the jungle.
Went into Chenang Beach, a small town consisting of one main drag.
Window shopped.
Bought and drank cans of a local soft-drink.
Stumbled upon a restaurant that I had researched as one of the best for Malay cuisine (they had flower petals in the toilet!).
Ate a delicious dinner of chicken & beef satay, local fish fillet, squid, shrimp, beef rendang, pumpkin in coconut milk, sauteed veggies & pineapple, yellow rice, spinach, and pickled watermelon.
Rented a motorbike and tested our driving skills in the dark.
Explored a bat cave.
Got pick-pocketed by some monkeys, who were mostly curious about Matt's watch (it's a fake, sillies!).
Went on a boat tour of the mangrove forests.
Saw 2 vipers curled up in the mangroves, plus tons of eagles, kingfishers, other birds, some monkeys, and even Bangladeshi fishermen.
Went swimming off of a hidden beach, where Matt plotted his survival plan should he ever find himself stranded in the mangrove forest (he better work on those fish-catching techniques, as he came up empty handed).
Ate at a floating restaurant on the docks.
Toured a fish farm, fed some grouper, and petted a manta ray.
Went go-kart racing.
Val mowed the track lawn with her go-kart, oops.
Tried to avoid for laps and laps the foot-long lizard that someone else hit.
Rode the motorbike along the coast across the island to the cruise docks and main town, about an hour away.
It started raining about halfway through the drive, but there's really nothing we could do being on the back of a motorbike.
Rode around town, found another of my researched restaurants, this time a local Chinese food stand (outdoors, mostly locals, no-frills, super cheap, but DELICIOUS!).
Checked out another resort on the tip of the peninsula; it was spectacular and made us wish we stayed there, but now we know where to go back.
Got back on the motorbike, stopping for ice cream at good ol' Baskin Robbins on the way.
Fell fast asleep on the plane back to Dhaka, while Matt worked more. We need to rest after this vacation!