Elephant Sanctuary

On Dec 26th we went to the Kuala Ghanda Elephant Sanctuary.  It's northeast of where we live, deep in the jungle. The kids have been looking forward to this since before we even came to Malaysia.  They were so excited to spend the day with elephants.  The sanctuary is funded by the government and free to the public.  It is focused on elephant rescue, bringing the injured elephants to the sanctuary and relocating healthy elephants to the Malaysia National Park.  The people from the sanctuary have been called to Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore to help with elephant rescues.  They are really good!  We were able to set up our visit with a guy who the locals refer to as "The Elephant Man".  He's famous for rescuing elephants.  He's been doing it for 20 years and plays a key role in taking care of the elephants at the sanctuary.  He was our guide for the day.  We learned a lot from him.  He arranged lunch for us, made by a local woman's association (see pics below, Patrick loved the watermelon).  It was quite an experience.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  Santa made it to Malaysia so the kids were excited!  :)  It was quite a different experience, having a warm Christmas this year.  We went swimming yesterday on Christmas Eve!  We had a great sacrament meeting today and have had fun hanging out, enjoying the holiday.  We miss our family and friends at home though!  Only 18 more days and we'll be heading home!

Christmas Eve...

Putrajaya

Putrajaya is a new city that was created in the last 10 years for the Malaysian government.  

It's a master-planned city and it's absolutely amazing!  We went inside a mosque.  

What an experience!

Melaka

Melaka is located in southern Malaysia on the Straits of Malacca.  It is about 90 minutes from where we live.  It is a really old place, one of the smallest Malaysian states, settled by the Portuguese.  It was fun to visit.  Very historic.

 The humidity does wonders for our hair.  

It makes it so, how should I say it, um...boofy.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to everyone!
The Christmas decorations here are amazing.

(we're carrying groceries back to the apartment)

 

Our tradition - making candy houses out of Pop Tarts.  

We found Pop Tarts here at the grocery store!  Wahoo!

We were excited we were able to find them.  :)

Package from Grandma Liz!  Thank you!

Package from Nana and Grandpa!  Thank you!

Both packages arrived on the same day!  Awesome GRANDPARENTS think alike!

We love you! xoxoxoxoxo

Pewter Factory

Royal Selangor, here in Malaysia, is the biggest pewter factory in the world.  We went to visit it yesterday.  Sounds very boring, but it was really fun!  We saw the process of making pewter pieces.  All the pieces are completely handmade.  They are beautiful!  The kids took a half hour workshop.  They made a pewter bowl using old school methods and tools, how a bowl would have been made 100 years ago.

This pewter mug made the Guinness Book of World Records.

Petaling Street- Chinatown

Chinatown here in Malaysia is somethin' else!  You can find all sorts of stuff for very cheap. We had fun walking through, even though we did end up getting totally rained on. We picked up Seasons 1 and 2 of Modern Family, as well as some watered-down perfume for me, and some other fun trinkets for the kids. I love a good deal!  Who doesn't?