Trip to Kuantan... and a Coup in Thailand

I had wanted to post a lot of photos from our past weekend in Kuantan (east coast of Malaysia), but last night there was this little thing called a COUP in Thailand. Since I'm responsible for much of my company's operations in Thailand, and we have people there, and I'm planning to travel there next week -- the whole issue was a major event today. I spent much of the day on the phone, and made the decision to hold one of our employees from travel, at least for 24 hours. Asia really is a wild place, with things like this, we're learning every day how to stay safe.

I will be in Bangkok from Oct 1 to 4, so hopefully by then things will be settled down, and there will be no danger. I'm actually much more anxious about Ashley flying to Jakarta (Indonesia) this weekend for her cross-country meet than I am about my safety in Thailand.

Anyway, here are some photos from last weekend. I took Friday and Monday off. Friday, Cheryl and I toured around KL a bit while waiting for the girls to finish up w/ school. Here is the Malaysian supreme court building -- just east of legendary Merdeka Square where Malaysia declared its independence 49 years ago:


A funny sign. I guess it's for VERY VERY important people:


Another cool photo from near Merdeka Square. Cheryl liked how the cross walk lines seem to continue up the building wall:


Finally, we were off for Kuantan, armed with our trusty GPS to lead the way. Through the mountains of central Malaysia:


We saw a truck hauling hundreds of chickens. Quite a sight:


The resort was OK, but not as awesome as it could have been. Here, Ashley demonstrates the amazing cardio bicycle. Looks kind of like a Malaysian vacuum cleaner:


Brooke loved the fashionable 1980's workout poster. Can you believe this?!


The free weight rack left something to be desired. We could only wonder what happened to the rest of the dumbells....


A typical Malaysian sign. Just have to wonder what it all means (BTW we start our language lessons this coming Saturday. Yay!)


A photo of the beach, just outside our hotel building. Last Saturday was very misty outside. We still managed to get sunburned however:


Everyone was amazed that I actually took time to read a book... for 2+ hours! It was very good to just rest, ya know?


Brooke made a sand castle. She's such a creative girl. We love her!


Something fun by Ashley:






Ashley told us this was her artistic photo. She's right. It's cool. We named the coconut "Wilson" in honor of the movie "Castaway":


Once again, just before dinner at the local boardwalk, a group of Malaysians asked for photos with Cheryl and the girls. I decided I'd like a photo of them as well, and they obliged:


Cheryl and Ashley before dinner at a cool Thai Seafood restaurant:


Brooke and I. Same time, same place:


We took a walk, and found a huge snail along the way. Cool, huh?


A view back where we had just eaten dinner. The east coast really is gorgeous:


Cheryl and the girls stop for a beach photo. Aren't they beautiful? I'm the lucky one!


A view of Brooke exploring this unique Malaysian beach:


Cheryl and I with another one of our famous self-portrait photos...


Brooke enjoys yellow watermelon for breakfast on Sunday:


Ashley enjoys some morning grub as well:


It's not breakfast if we're not drinking coffee. Cheryl with her cup o' Joe:


We stopped by the mall and found this innocent looking snack shop:


What's so unusual you say?? Well, look at the name of the place. Ha!!


Meanwhile there was a rather strange marketing show going on in centre court. Here, a dryer-duct hatted woman makes an urgent plea for a brand of water filtration system. WHAT??!!


Anyway, it's now 11pm on Wednesday night. Time for bed. These photos took a lot longer to post this time around, but I know how everyone seems to enjoy our adventures. We really are doing our best to absorb all that we can out here.

greg