Weeks 17 and 18 : Hot days in Malaysia - Part 1

The cheap luggage set held up!  And they looked better after the trip compared to the expensive Samsonite set that we bought in 05.  Woo hoo!  

So, I'm writing this just mere hours after touching down at the San Francisco airport.  We were in Malaysia for about 2 weeks, transit via Taipei. It was a good trip. I'm already missing my family and friends.  (post this over 2 days of arriving coz Ilham was so fussy)

Kev and I love travelling, we feel at home in airports. From the beginning, I was excited and pretty nervous about flying with Ilham. From SFO (San Francisco Airport) to TPE (Taipei airport), she was pretty quiet. The flight was 1:40am so it was her sleeping time. The bassinet is a bit big but looked comfortable. I didn't like the bassinet on the way back..it's an older one, white and smelled of plastic!  For long hauls, the bassinet really helped out but for shorter ones, it's not that a big deal.  The only thing is that the bassinet takes a lot of room so it's tough for eating and watching TV.  Luckily our flights were not full so we took advantage of the empty seats beside us.  We used EVA air, the rates were reasonable, the air crew were fast to respond and we've been lucky coz in their Economy section, it's rarely full.  They have a Deluxe Economy which a lot more people prefer.

When we reached KL, I lost Kev for a few minutes at the passport/customs counter. There was no queue on mine and I thought his was the same. He took about 10 minutes more and I only found him when I heard Brigitta cry in the crowd. It was amazing that I could recognize her cry. Luckily, she's loud. :)  Kev said that she started crying 2/3 of the way in the queue and he could see that the customs officers just start stamping things faster after she started crying. During his turn, the person didn't even ask him questions, just look, stamp and waved them through.  It's a funny story now but not then.

Once we pass the glass doors of arrival to the KLIA arrival lounge it felt like there's no A/C there. There were TONS of people and overwhelming.  As soon as we went to the side, guys started asking us if we want a taxi.  Seriously, the govt should allow the normal cabs to work with KLIA coz they don't want an empty cab to KL.  

I asked Kevin to wait with the baby inside while I go change money. We were already sweating and fanning ourselves.  The stupid thing is that there's a barrier straight across the arrival hall and there is one exit to the right but no exit to the left. And that's where the "Meeting Point" and currency exchange area is. So, I have to go outside and then go in again to go to the other side. The moment the doors opened, I felt more heat and saw clouds of white smoke coming towards me. I think it was cigarette smoke. There were TONS of people smoking out there.  BTW, throughout the trip, I noticed there's not as many smokers this time around. If that's true, that is so great.

So, got hold of Mariam, my sis who is there to pick us up with Iman, my niece.  And we all then drove home to the family home in TTDI.  My sis, Zaihan had just finished renovating one room downstairs for us so it was very comfy. 

Brigitta in her bassinet. It was during "lights off" from SFO to TPE so had to take in the dark with the plane moving.

Surau (Muslim Prayer Room) in Taipei. It's near the Hello Kitty lounge.

I think this is the Buddhist prayer room.  

Going back to KL..yay!

Nursing in TPE.

Brigitta in Taipei.  We didn't bring the car seat back coz it's really big and bulky.

From TPE to KUL.  We opt for the 4 seater instead and push the arm seats in.

Meeting her cousin, Iman for the first time.