Christmas in Bali ...

I suppose before one leaves KLIA (the airport) in Kuala Lumpur for Christmas in Bali, tea and scones at Harrods would be appropriate, right? But after arriving in Nusa Dua on the 24th of December the family did have a great time in a warm tropical climate. We had occasional rain but there was plenty of time for the kids to play on the beach or in the pool. The kids really enjoyed making sand castles on the beach, taking a ride on a "banana boat" and spending lots of time in the pool. We took one full day for a taxi ride to Ubud, an area known for all kinds of crafts and also for its rice paddies.


Ample buffet breakfasts were inclusive in the hotel costs, so we usually ate light for lunch and then went to a nearby restaurant (all 13 of us) for dinner. - rw

Some Highlights of Christmas in KL

We're sure it was tough for Mark and Marta, Daniel, Eli and Micah to leave the comfortable, cold, and snowy weather in the Washington D.C. area -- and for Tasha to leave the cold and rain in Portland -- and to don swimsuits in Malaysia. But it happened! And the rest of the family was so glad they came. One of the highlights for most everyone was the day trip to Sunway Lagoon on the other side of the city. It's a huge water park with something for everyone. Underwater pictures were taken and fun was had by all.
A highlight for the adults was an all-adult dinner at the Chinese restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel downtown -- thanks to a 1/2 price coupon that Nancy produced (pix posted earlier on our blog).


Of course all first-time visitors to KL need to take the elevator to the top of the KL Tower, and also try to get tickets (which we did after a long wait in line) to the Skybridge in the Petronas Towers. And then, of course, there's the KL Birdpark, the largest covered birdpark in the world, where everyone except Micah was willing to have a "close encounter" with one or more parrots. - rw

The Woodward Family Photo

On the evening before Tasha and Mark and Marta & boys flew back to the U.S. (Dec. 30th) we did manage to take a family photo. It was the day after we flew in from Bali and had what seemed like interminable taxi rides in heavy traffic back from the airport. Nancy is the one who has all of the pictures of the many fun activities at our Bali beach hotel, but my "Kodak contribution" is a picturesque rice paddy beside [Marta & Gabi] the restaurant where we had lunch on a day trip from Nusa Dua to Ubud. - rw

Van Groceries

The family enjoyed seeing our convenient grocery store that comes in a van to our condo twice a week.

Adults only Dinner

All of the adults went to dinner at the Mandarin Oriental and enjoyed seeing the Twin Towers at night.

A Day at Sunway Lagoon

All the kids, Doug, Nancy, Mark and Marta spent a day at the Sunway Lagoon Park taking in rides and enjoying the water park.

Twin Towers Skybridge

Thanks to a long wait in line by Ron, Mark and Marta we all were able to go to the Twin Towers Skybridge after our Christmas dinner.