Still in Sarawak, Borneo, our first night in the cabin at Permai Rainforest was spent listening to the sounds of the jungle. Mostly insects. Man, those insects were loud! But it was a soothing cacophony. Better than freight-train snoring, anyway. I’ll let you guess who is generally responsible for that. Come morning, we awoke to…
Sarawak sits on the north-western coast of Borneo. It became a Malaysian state when, in 1963, the British decided that it was too much effort and expense to lord it over govern the colony any longer and so the area joined with the new nation of Malaysia, also an ex-colony of Britain. The tiny sultan-ship…
It was a steamy morning in Kuala Lumpur when we jumped into a taxi and headed 13km out of town to Batu Caves. Despite being early, the place was already buzzing with activity when we arrived. There were a few other tourists around, but we were overwhelmingly outnumbered by those making a spiritual visit, rather…
There’s much to see in KL, as in any big city, but it’s the blend of cultures in Malaysia that sets its cities apart from many of their South East Asian counterparts. In a day in KL, you can visit traditional Malay markets, Little India, Chinatown, and colossal westernised malls… that’s if you can get…
We’re off! We’re on the road for our first great overseas travel odyssey with backpacks, and four-year-old twins. Well, technically, it’s our second great travel odyssey with kids – we spent a few weeks in California last year – but that was in a hire car, with suitcases, and an esky, and fold-up chairs, and…
Ah, rainy weekends in winter. Or, more aptly, (and much, much worse) arrrggghhhhhhh, rainy weekends in winter! Pre-kids, we loved these days… Books, food, TV marathons, movies, wine. Heaven. Ah, rainy weekends in winter. Now, arrrggghhhhhhh rainy weekends in winter begin like any other day, but quickly deteriorate as cabin fever sets in mid-morning. I mean,…
Ribbit the kindy frog came to visit this weekend. We liked him. A lot. He visits with different kids each week, and does exciting things, like riding in trucks and going to the zoo. This weekend, we didn’t do much. It wasn’t very exciting. But here is our story for Ribbit the kindy frog’s journal,…
Dear Peppa Pig, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. (Note to readers unfamiliar with Peppa: ‘Peppa Pig’ is a TV show, which has inexplicable powers of preschool mind control… in a good way… I think.) 1. Jumping in muddy puddles This skill is dreadfully important during an east coast low. Practising…
Welcome to Cake Wars. Two parents go head to head in the kitchen in daring combat for cake decorating supremacy. Will the cake crumble? Will the icing stick? And most importantly, who will prevail? Our twins turned four on Monday. Of course, they were super dooper excited. Presents, balloons, lolly bags, and cakes; what more…
What is it about dance movies that draw us in time after time? The moves? The music? The hot young things? Today I’m talking my top five dancing movies, linking up with The Lounge… Because explorers need to know how to dance. Let’s face it, if Captain Cook had known the hula, the Hawaiians may…
Raising Explorers 