And we’re off……

Stu : Well that’s us well and truly on the way now. We said our final goodbyes to the family on Wednesday. Was most bizarre to say the least. Still didn’t feel real, in fact it still doesn’t. Anyway – we arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday afternoon to lovely weather and a cracking hotel. We are staying in the Renaissance Hotel and it’s everything we hoped it would be. The only downside is that a new hotel is being built opposite and the view from the pool is straight on to a building site. Ah well – that’s Kuala Lumpur for you. Hotels are popping up everywhere.

Upon checking in to the hotel what should I hear but a Carlisle accent getting stroppy with the reception staff. Those bloody Cumbrians get everywhere don’t they. Surely they should have their passports revoked at birth ! Otherwise there’s nothing stopping the likes of Uncle Dave and Jont terrorising the rest of the world.

The hotel room is cracking and the food is even better. Pretty much maxed out this morning on what ended up being a bit of a 3-course breakfast : big bowl of fruit and yogurt, 3 slices of toast and to round things off a big fried breakfast. Gotta love it !!

We had our first venture into KL centre today and it’s a pretty manic city. Cars everywhere and huge buildings all around. That being said it does have a certain appeal to it and the Petronas Twin Towers are awesome. Way more taller than I expected them to be. We ended up in a shopping mall and I decided to head off to look for a bloke’s toilet. I followed the sign and stepped into a bleak looking corridor. I followed the corridor down to the bottom and there was a closed door. Needless to say I walked in to the room only to be confronted by 12 blokes on mats praying. Oooops !! A tactical retreat was certainly called for there. Those crazy Muslims !!

Anyway – I’m off to get ready for my scran so I’ll catch up with you guys later. 

Amy : Wednesday flew by…when we got to the airport I was in tears, the poor man at the check-in desk didn’t know what to do.  Thankfully I just kept crying as my bag was 34kg’s, 12kgs over weight and Stus was 8kg’s overweight so I think the tears helped get them through with no extra charges.

The Goodbyes weren’t half as bad as I thought they would be.  I still howled, but managed to control myself once we got through the bleeper machines.  We enjoyed a few drinks before we got on our way.  The London flight was delayed by an hour which was pants.  Then our Kuala Lumpur flight was the longest in the world as the TV’s didn’t work for us and they couldn’t move us.  We got their in the end though.

Once we got through immi it was plain sailing, do we take a train into KL for £8 each or an air-conditioned private taxi for £11, the taxi won…45 mins later we were checking into the most glamorous hotel ever…we managed to get an upgrade on our room as well as we were staying longer than 3 days.  We went a wee tour after checking in and got lost, we hadn’t even ventured out the hotel!  That gives you an idea of how big it is.

Today was lovely and relaxing, went a wander round a shopping mall, saw the Petronas Towers then chilled in the sun at the side of the pool.  Just the kinda holiday we were after.  We’re still shocked at how cheap everything is.  We did a mini-shop today and cans of coke were only 20p, our whole shop, two bags worth came to less than £4.  You kinda feel guilty when it’s that cheap.

Right off for some dinner now.  Loving all the comments from everyone…

 

And still the party goes on…..

Saturday night meant yet another party for Amy and I. This time in the glamorous location that is Carlisle for the Lloyd \ Pate leaving do. A quick beer in Woodrow Wilsons then it was off to Panchos Mexican restaurant for a bit scran. Mum and Dad surprised Amanda and I by announcing that they were paying for the food and drink for everyone. Top folks eh !

Needless to say everyone (epecially from the Pate side of the family !!) were more than happy to oblige by drinking their own body weight in alcohol. The food was excellent and the banter was even better ! Then from the restaurant it was decided that we should all have a wee boogie in Terminal One nightclub. Pretty run of the mill club with sticky carpets ahoy but with a crowd like ours it was always going to be a laugh. As more beer flowed the more Uncle David’s ludicrous dancing ability was inflicted upon us all. Bless his cotton socks ! Mind you – even that was eclipsed by my cousin Andrew’s attempt at podium dancing.

The Annan contingent amongst us had a mini-bus booked for 12.30am so we escaped and got on the bus back home. That being said it certainly wasn’t a quiet affair as Daz and I made sure Tony gave us some classic Irish sing-alongs on the way home. Top work Tony !

Back to Mum and Dads and, unfortunately for Daz and I, the whisky was cracked open. Between Daz, Tony and I we managed to neck the best part of a bottle which resulted in the two Lloyd brothers passing out at around 3am, snuggling up to each other on a mattress in the middle of the living room floor. Still fully clothed and in our boots I hasten to add !!

Anyway – thanks to everyone that came along on Saturday night and made the night a complete success, and thanks again to Mum and Dad for arranging to pay for the meal for everyone. It was an awesome send off for us.

Stu and Amy

 

Party on

Well here we are……jobless and homeless and nowhere to go. This travelling malarkey is just great isn’t it !! Amanda and I are just putting the final preparations together. As you can imagine Amanda has her spreadsheets all updated and in order of importance so we’re cooking with gas.  Did I mention that Stu bought me a lovely baby pink suitcase to pack all my clothes in :O)

This week we have been visiting friends and family saying our final goodbyes to them all. Pretty emotional stuff but we knew it was always going to be this way. We make our final trip to Annan this weekend for the family leaving do. Should be a great weekend and can’t wait to see everyone ( Even Uncle Dave !)

We had the “Little’s” leaving doo in Edinburgh on the 8th July which was the first of many.  Mum and Dad put on a lovely BBQ and it even stayed dry for most of it…so unlike the Scottish weather!!  Mum managed to compose herself long enough to do a wee speech in the house and gave me and Stu some lovely pressies which will be coming to NZ with us.  A lot of wine and Gin was consumed and we even managed to get a little shot of Sing Star on the go at the end of the night….I pity their neighbours that’s all I can say.

Talking of leaving do’s (of which we’ve had plenty over the last couple of weeks), we had our friends night out on Saturday which was a great success. So many people turned up to the Walkabout pub and it just made me realise how lucky we are to have so many great friends. All the usual suspects turned up, as well as a few friends we hadn’t seen for a while. Needless to say much beer was consumed which resulted in a nasty Sunday morning headache. The sights in the Lava and Ignite (Cavendish) nightclub certainly didn’t help. It was one hell of an experience. Hippo-croca-pigs everywhere ! In fact Pud mentioned that it was how he would imagine an Annan club to be if such a thing was in existence. Strong words, but not far off the mark.

Attached is a group photo of all of us outside the Walkabout bar. Cheers to everyone that came along. You made our night !

Stu & Amy