Frommer's Guide to Malaysia

I bought the Frommer guide to Singapore and Malaysia and it states that Malaysia is one of the last undiscovered vacation spots on the planet. Apparently the middle east countries have discovered Malaysia and travel there in July and August to get away from the dry heat in their countries. They like Malaysia because it is a Moslem country. Frommer also states that Malaysian beaches are some of the most beautiful and at times of the year you can have them all to yourself. Shelley and I may just have to take up snorkelling.

Jim

Documentation all Done

Well, it's been a lot of work getting our documentation for our visas completed. The final docs (copies of all passport photos, health letters from doctors, and copy of marriage certificate) were sent out Friday by courier.

Our flights to Malaysia are now booked. We fly from Ottawa to Vancouver, getting in at 2:30 pm. We will have supper with our son Jordan and then fly out to Honk Kong via Cathay Pacific, gettinto Hong Kong at 8 am. We then proceed to Kuala Lumpur (Cathay Pacific), getting in at about 12:30 pm. At that point we get put up in a hotel for 5 days while we look for an apartment to live in for the next year.

It's all getting very real now.

Jim

Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club

I really recommend the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club because the cab ride is $4.75 to or from the Cruise ship dock. Matter of fact you could walk it in about 5 minutes. You can also see the cruise ships about a kilometer away. It is a Hilton property and has recently gone through a 70 million $ renovation. It's very well turned out (complete conference centre) for about $170 a night. The regular Hampton Inn we stayed at while waiting for our cruise was $125 and a $15 cab ride. There is also a starbucks about a 5 minute walk with a great bagel shop beside it.

Shelley and I decided to opt for a pizza in the room tonight and rent a movie. Shelley has to be gone by about 6 am so it is early to bed for her. I plan to roll out of bed about 9 am, walk for a Starbucks and bagel and then program for about 3 hours before heading off to the airport which is only a 10 minute cab ride away.

Jim

Last Day and Homeward Bound

Shelley and I have just finished packing before heading up for one last supper and a live comedian. We clear the ship and customs tomorrow at 9 am and will proceed to our hotel for the day. Shelley flies back to Orlando tomorrow morning at 7 am so I won't be seeing her off at the airport. I fly out at 4:30 pm and arrive back in Ottawa at a relaxed 7:30 pm. Shelley has to make her connection in Orlando at 8:30 and has only 30 minutes to make her connection. She did do a dry run on the way down so it is possible. She travels through Newark back to Ottawa.

We are not looking forward to the snow and cold and it will be an interesting experience going a whole year without snow in Malaysia.

Jim

Princess Key

Well folks, Princess Key is an awesome island with an awesome beach. Highly recommended, although we have no idea what the rest of the Bahamas is like. The boat parks offshore and you tender in. Best part is there is no diamond shops at all. The credit card gets a break.

It was a beautiful sunny day so Shelley and I worked on our tans for 2 hours. Hopefully the folks back at the Board will be duly impressed.

Jim

Thursday Travel, Friday Princess Key

Thursday we steamed towards home and spent the whole day on the ocean. I spent most of the day programming and Shelley wandered the ship taking part in varied onboard activities. We also attended the theatre catching the "Broadway" musical which was very good as were all the productions.

Today we arrive in the Bahamas and disembark onto the private island that belongs to Princess Cruise lines. Shelley has announced she wants to try snorkelling to view the fishes. We also have to pack as our luggage is picked up at 5 pm and we disembark Saturday morning at 9 am.

Jim

Cat next door?

Funny thing just happened on the cruise. Shelley may have gotten too much sun. I was doing a little programming in "Scratch" and I was programming sounds, especially a cat sound. Shelley was quite perturbed and kept asking where the cat was. It was kind of funny so I did not say anything. Next thing you know she is out in the hallway complaining to the steward that the cabin next door has a cat in it. I quickly owned up to avoid any further embarassment. Scratch is lots of fun.

Jim

Wednesday and Cozumel

We are now in Cozumel and we decided to spend the day at a private beach where it was all inclusive as I was wanting a strawberry daiquiri (yes I know it is a girlie drink but it's yummy in the heat). Unfortunately the port area has lots of jewellery stores and my Amex did not make it out uncharged :-(. It was hot except for a brief thunderstorm that passes through for about 20 minutes. I hear that too is like Malaysia and you should carry an umbrella with you everyday.

Jim

Grand Cayman Island

If it's Tuesday, it must be Grand Cayman Island. Turned out the island is well run by government and is easy to get in and out of. Unfortunately the nice shops liberated me of about $200 U.S. dollars but it was hot and I needed a ball cap and a new pair of sun glasses for our excursion to Malaysia which I hear is also hot and more humid.

Jim

Ocho Rio

It's Monday and Shelley and I are in Ocho Rio in Jamaica and the vendor's common line is "beads for a dollar, rolled joint, wacky tobaccy and smokes?" Jamaica does seem to be one of the more messed up islands. It's definitely warmer here as it feels like about 90 degrees. They drive on the 'wrong' side of the road thanks to their British heritage.

Shelley and I signed up for a morning tour to Dunn's river and Majestic mountain. Truth be told the Gatineau hills have as much if not more to offer. The rain forest in Tofino British Columbia is also much more impressive. Perhaps that is the source of Jamaica's problems.

Jim

Post from Word 2007

I am composing this blog entry in Word 2007 and will use the publish feature in the main menu to publish it up to my blog. The advantage to doing it this way is that I am not burning minutes on my internet plan and I have all the proofing functions available through word. No more typos, except for the odd homonym misuse.

The steward is knocking on the door, eager to introduce himself so I had better answer it or there won't be any towel animals on our beds tonight J

 

Jim

Aboard the Princess Ruby

We are shipboard and have checked into our cabin and really enjoy the large balcony. We have toured the ship (one cruise ship is pretty much the same as another) and are now resting in the cabin awaiting the requisite fire drill.

I signed up for 250 minutes of internet usage at $100 which is 40 cents a minute. Best that I compose my blog off line and post it up with Word 2007.

More as we sail ...

Jim

Arrived in Fort Lauderdale - Despite Friday 13th

Good news, Friday the 13th had no effect on our travel plans and Shelley and I both arrived on time and hooked up at the correct terminal (4 of them) in Fort Lauderdale. Unfortunately all the eateries at the airport closed by 9 am and we are starved. We just ordered a pizza for delivery.

Tomorrow we get to sleep in as we do not board until 12 noon.

Jim

Enroute to Fort Lauderdale

I am currently sitting in the Maple Leaf lounge in Dorval airport in Montreal. I am here from 11 am to 4 pm awaiting my connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale (the joys of using Aeroplan points). It's actually not bad as I have a great internet connection and I am getting a lot of work done. I get into Fort lauderdale at 8:30 pm and Shelley gets in at 10:30 pm from Orlando where she was attending a conference on "Differentiated Instruction".

Shelley and I are leaving on a cruise (Princess) Saturday morning for the western Caribbean. We had booked this cruise before we decided to leave for Malaysia. We are becoming quite the travellers of late.

I am composing (sounds much higher level of thought processing) this on my new laptop which I have purchased for the next year of travel and work. It's a Dell Studio XPS 1340 with a 128GB SSD (Solid State Drive) and it's a screamer! Definitely the fastest computer I have ever used and affordable at $1,600 with a 3 year global warrantee. It's also got a great LED screen which is easier on the eyes. Dell produced it to compete with the 13 inch MacBook. I have used both and I prefer the Dell, however the Mac would be my second choice.

I really quite like the coffee machine here in the lounge, but it is almost 12 noon so it will be time to switch to red wine :-)

Jim

Freezing Rain Today!

Shelley and I woke up to freezing rain today. We were both thinking we won't miss this! It was a cool day in KL today at 88 degrees farenheit and of course 70% humidity. Larry provided me with a URL stating that Malaysians were protesting in the streets because their Ministry of Education mandates that high school science and math program should be taught in English not Malay. Now I understand why we should not hang around when there are protest groups involved. However, let us not forget the October crisis in Canada.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7930243.stm

Jim

All Doumentation is Done

We had a lovely brunch (Milestones) with Bill and Genevieve (wife) at Milestones. We handed our documentation over to Bill and then asked questions for the next 3 hours. Bill and Genevieve were a fount of knowledge having worked as the Director of Taylors Pre University program. Turns out Bill was about my age when he made the change from Superintendent with Dufferin Peel Catholic to Director, halfway round the world.

Shelley and I now feel comfortable in our decision and our ability to function and have fun in Malaysia. Taylors is also expanding so there should be lots of opportunities over the next year. It appears there is a window of opportunity to travel back home in September and June. Christmas is out as our children are coming to visit.

Our thoughts are now turning to tying up loose ends in Canada such as visits to accountants (tax advice) and lawyers (new wills and power of attorney). More on this later ...

Medical done ...

Just managed to get my medical done and now all we need now is proof that Shelley and I are married. I hope our original marriage licence will suffice, but every marriage starts off with one of those. How do you prove you are still married? I suppose you could photocopy page one of your income tax return where you tick off spouse (I do that regularly :-) and supply a SIN number. I suppose if Revenue Canada buys it, it should be good for the visa folks in Malaysia. I suppose they need that info for our group health plan as well.

This afternoon we are off to a financial advisor for advice (go figure) on whether or not Shelley should take a leave of absence and buy into one more year of her pension plan to avoid the penalty because she does not have her 85 factor. Shelley is much younger than me and now I pay for the cradle robbing. I also miss our TGIF at East Side's. Maybe Shelley can go by her self ...

Jim

Almost Done!

If you plan on doing this overseas teaching stuff you should be aware it takes a while to put all your documentation together, most of which is needed for the work visa. The latest stumbling block is the police check. It nows takes 6-8 weeks to get a police check. Passports are no problem as long as you are willing to pay the premium. Transcripts are easy (even U of O was fast). You also need a letter from your doctor stating you are in good health. That can take a long time if you have not had a recent physical. We will have all our ducks in a row by this Friday.

Shelley has been out shopping which is her favourite past time. Her latest venture netted us 2 new, hard shell, light weight full size suitcases. The lighter the suitcase, the more shoes you can put in it before you are overweight. Apparently suitcases are like laptops. The lighter they are, the more they cost. Don't ask :-)

Jim