Mr. Happy’s parents are in town from London! We’ve done so much that you may very well become exhausted reading this post.MIL & FIL arrived at our flat and, after a joyous reunion, inquired as to the location of our second bedroom. Doh! Mr. Happy, what the heck do you tell your parents??? I delivered the news that we do not have a second bedroom, but I did offer to give them a tour of our second bathroom.
We eased them into Malaysian life by taking them to our favorite massage place off Jalan Alor, Ancient Thai.
For those of you new to Thai massage, you go into a small room with a mattress on the floor. There you will find loose fitting pants and a top to change into. The massage is less the kneading of muscles – like Swedish – but more an all out stretching, pulling, cracking, tugging, and twisting of your body. You’ll leave feeling two inches taller! FIL claimed he felt better, but the massage itself was a little painful. He just has to get used to it!After getting man-handled, we went for a stroll. The in-laws felt right at home in Malaysia's little corners.
We then went off in search of dinner and ended up at KLCC. Father and son had to make some important decisions.
Unswayed by Malaysia's culinary delights, MIL announced she wasn’t hungry and just had a bit of bread and water.
The next morning we arose with the dawn and headed out in our rented Proton to Taman Negara – a rainforest dating back more than 130 million years. It’s considered the oldest tropical rainforest in the world.
(Km 1 of more than 1000)Some of us were a little over-prepared for the trip. Behold, the most bundled up man in all of Malaysia!
(Bare in mind that it is 98 degrees outside. May I take your coat, sir?)The trip took a loooong time and we encountered several road blocks.
They weren't kidding!
We finally arrived in Kuala Tahan!
The hotel I wanted to stay in was a bit remote. By “a bit” I mean you followed a dirt path through the woods for 500 meters until you arrived at a fallen tree that bridged a river, crossed that, and then you were there! MIL put her foot down – along with her suitcase - half way to the guesthouse. We checked out a few other places but they were really, really basic with squat toilets. We found one nice place, but it was booked up for the night. We ended up driving BACK one hour to Jerantut. 
Finally there is room at the inn - the Wau Hotel!
Jerantut is a small town and it was difficult to find vegetarian food. All we had had for lunch were fried bananas wrapped in bread – fruit dogs - and I was starving.
The front desk clerk at the Wau offered to bring us some vegetarian food from his mother’s house. Unfortunately, when he called home his aunt, who was visiting, had unexpectedly given birth and – as everyone knows – it’s bad luck to eat food prepared in a home where a woman has just given birth.
Once again MIL opted to just eat bread. I opted to go to a nearby Chinese restaurant.
Saturday morning we awoke and took a bus from Jerantut back to Taman Negara.
(Taman Negara - Take 2)We then hopped on a boat taxi to the National Park and began a 40 minute stroll to the Canopy Walkway.
This is supposed to be the longest Canopy Walk in the world. It's suspended 40 meters in the air. I couldn’t wait to get there!
(This is the trunk of a giant tree that fell over. MIL was hoping - I mean worried - this tree would fall on FIL)
Unfortunately, the hike to the Canopy Walk proved very difficult for MIL who described it as “treacherous” “dangerous” and the “most frightening experience of my entire life.” But she made it! After terrifying her we told her it was time to walk on a plank several stories above the ground. And guess what???
She did that too!!! Well done MIL & FIL!!!!
With MIL’s newfound prowess as a trekker, climber, and daredevil the hike back went much faster. FIL swung back the entire way on tree vines.
We hired a boat to take us back to Jerantut.
It was nice to relax on the water and catch a breeze.
(Some people call it a sling blade. I call it a kaiser blade.)We were quickly lulled to sleep.
To my alarm, our captain was lulled as well.
Happily, we avoided a Titanic episode and made it back safe and sound. An empty bus even picked us up to take us from the river to our hotel.
The next morning we enjoyed a hearty breakfast– of bread.
(Alert: Dr. Atkins, HELP!)We got some directions and headed off to the Cameron Highlands.
It was a school holiday and we hit TRAFFIC.
Not fun. Also, Mr. Happy ignored my suggestion that we fill up our gas tank while we sat at a petrol station for 15 minutes during a bathroom break. Because he still doesn't realize I know everything and he knows nothing, we were forced to turn the car off and coast down the hills to save gas.
(The face of a man who does not listen to his wife!) We finally found a gas station and pulled in on what fumes were left in the tank.
We checked into the HillView Inn.
We checked into the HillView Inn.
We grabbed a quick dinner at an Indian joint. Finally, the MIL orders food! Although, it still looks like bread to me. 
Honestly! It’s so difficult to take the kids out these days when all they want to do is text on their mobiles!
In the Cameron Highlands we booked a half day tour that took us to several sites in the hills.
First stop, the rose center.
This was nice and the outdoor bit on the hill was beautiful. 
Then we hit a strawberry farm. This was kind of disappointing. It wasn’t too interesting and there wasn’t a lot to see. I managed to spot one strawberry on the entire farm.
It was more of a refreshment stop to buy strawberry infused products. Mr. Happy and I both chose (drum roll) strawberry ice cream! Delish!
Then it was time for the apiary – honey bee farm. This was a COMPLETE waste of time. We basically walked around a bunch of empty hives and I saw a few flies.
This bee was the only one I saw and it turned out to be completely fake!
This was a tourist trap. They don’t even explain anything about bees or honey or wax or anything. Eat some Honeycombs for breakfast and skip this.
Now it was time for the tea plantation. This was gorgeous.
The Boh tea factory is closed on Mondays so we couldn’t take their tour, but the scenery was the best in the highlands.
Next, we hit up the Butterfly and Reptile Farm. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this quite a bit. The reptiles and I really hit it off.
(I am a Scorpio which I think is why I have such a natural rapport with these bugs.)
(Would you believe he's a better kisser than Mr. Happy?)This is an Orchid bug. It attaches itself to a stick and really looks like an orchid!
This is a walking leaf insect. It really looks like a leaf!
Oh Mother Nature, what will you think of next!!??
The butterflies weren’t bad either.
Our last stop was a Buddhist Temple.
After a quick lunch we hopped back in our Proton and drove to KL.
This is a walking leaf insect. It really looks like a leaf!
Oh Mother Nature, what will you think of next!!??
The butterflies weren’t bad either.
Our last stop was a Buddhist Temple.
After a quick lunch we hopped back in our Proton and drove to KL. 
We made one quick stop at a waterfall where lots of locals were cooling off.
We made it back to KL in 2.5 hours. It then took us an hour to figure out how to get to our apartment.
On Wednesday, we took a day trip to the Batu Caves. The caves were discovered more than 120 years ago and Hindu shrines were erected soon after. The caves are positioned on a cliff, high on a Malaysian mountainside.
Very high…we climbed lots of steps. 
could...barely...breathe...
We crest the summit!
I really couldn't resist this. Somebody needs to get these lovely ladies a new guidebook! Why would you show up here in pumps? Hope they are Easy Spirit…
These monkeys followed us everywhere. (Note: one monkey – cute, a gang of monkeys – terrifying).
After cajoling me out of my milk money, the monkeys left us alone.
We then enjoyed a meal of real food – almost no bread!
We continued our journey into the Genting Highlands.
This is the only casino in Malaysia and it’s very popular. I’m not sure why. I thought it was pretty grim with none of the noise, music, excitement, and energy that you find in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, or a public library.
That being said I did make one 5 RM bet on the roulette wheel and immediately won 90 RM. So I cashed out. I know when to stop!
With my winnings, I treated MIL, Mr. Happy, and myself to a beautiful cable car ride through the hills.
While we were gone, FIL decided to utilize his free time by putting his lion taming skills to use and performing a quick show for his fans.
Bravo!
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