Writing from Kota Kinabalu...Malaysia

Our first international excursion since arriving in China has started much more smoothly than last time we tested the international waters. This time we started from Shanghai, took a two hour flight to Hong Kong and then took another 2.5 hour flight south to Kota Kinabalu, which is on the nothern side of the east part of Malaysia. The island is called Sabah and it may be more recognizable by the name "Borneo". We took Dragon Air and were suprised to be served Haagen Daz in flight! Beer and Wine was also free, and we were riding in Economy. We even have pictures to prove it (the ice cream that is)...






We left Shanghai at 11:30 am this morning and got here just before 7 pm. The timezone is the same, so fortunately no jet lag. We are staying at a very nice hotel, another Shangri-La, so we expect a week of good service and good food. We picked this part of Malaysia since the rest of the country is very raining this time of year. Here we expect rain every night, but the forecast looks good during the day...we hope that stays true as we plan on doing lots of snorkeling, some hiking, and some wildlife adventures. Off to go plan our Sunday here...

Kung Fu Panda Sighting in Shanghai

Last Thursday night we decided to try going to a Chinese movie theater. Many of the expats we talk to have never been but we figured how bad could it be. Kung Fu Panda had just started playing here and was listed as in English with Chinese subtitles. We got there in time for the 7:15 show and were about 20 minutes early. Buying tickets is similar to going to a ball game where you pick the seats from what is still available. Tickets were about $10 USD, although the first movie time every day is half price. The staff spoke decent English even though we saw only one other potentially English speaking family in the throng of people. There were lots of snacks to choose from, but prices are no better than the US...we passed up the popcorn not knowing where the oil or butter was coming from. We proceeded to the gate with about 15 minutes left and discovered that seating begins 5 minutes before showtime. Not surprising given the assigned seating. After watching some folks ice skating next door we returned and found our assigned seats. The theater was large with nice comfortable seats. It was also very clean. Before the movie got started we were slammed with several minutes of violent gun and car chase scenes for some up coming movies so we took the kids out for a few minutes and then returned when the actual movie started. The movie was great and it was cool seeing the positive audience reaction to the American Chinese film. We laughed and enjoyed the movie along with 200 Chinese and 1 other Western family. All in all we enjoyed it more than we have enjoyed a movie in a long time. It was very well done and great for both old and young. After the movie, the exit was painless and we left wondering why more expats don't see movies more often. It was a great experience and one we will do again soon since the top US movies typically start playing here within a couple of weeks of the US opening.

Getting ready for Malaysia

We leave for our first big trip away from China on Saturday. We will be going to Kota Kinabalu for a week. Weather permitting we plan on spending lots of time in the water and maybe see an Orangutan or two. To get ready, we got the kids snorkel gear and have been practicing at the pool. Little did we know that would unleash the fish in Amanda. In about two weeks she has gone from barely wanting to get her head completely underwater to wanting to try and swim the entire pool. We got a new underwater toy to go with our underwater adventures and here is proof of Amanda's new found skill.

Tanner took the video, not bad for his first time. We had our first nice day in a week here and it only took 5 hours before we could get them out of the pool. Some other underwater shots...