theFISHBOWL: Parent's Visit: tour of KL

We really wanted to give my parents a good scare, so we took them straight to the hawker stalls the first night :) That wasn't where we were eating dinner of course, but it was okay to let them think that for a minute, right? tee-hee!

Hawkers stalls are local "street cart" food, and there's no end to what you can find! There are plastic tables along the sidewalk and a stack of chairs, and when you're hungry you just grab a chair and pull up to a table! We've seen everything from frog legs, every kind of fish, every kind of ball (I think I've mentioned in a prev post how much they love to roll things into balls: fish balls, rice balls, meat balls, tofu balls, etc.. then boil them on a stick)... but the "normal" and more common things to get from hawker stalls are chicken wings, satay (beef or ckn skewers), and lots of seafood. Mom & dad thought it was interesting, and were polite, but it was pretty funny to watch them squirm as we started to see some strange stuff :) Unfortunately I forgot my camera so we don't have pics of the frogs hopping around their cage - next time!

The next market was a REAL market - I actually shop here, they have great fruit and veggies, and many will just cut you a piece of whatever you're looking at for a taste as you walk around. It's really fun! Dad picked up a few mangos, and mom got some avacados. Madison got her "usual" - roasted corn on the cob, and I got my favorite local fruit called Jackfruit. After going to the farmers market we took them to a banana leaf dinner. They loved it (dad asked to go back the next night!), so I'm proud of them for trying authentic food.. and actually liking it!

Madison teaching Nana how to use chopsticks.. she's a pro!

Adventures at the mall. We went to the mall to pick up Ryan from work (his building is connected.. convenient, right?!), and had some time to kill so I took mom & dad around to sample some of the local delights. First up, BUBBLE TEA! Ryan loves it, I don't. I just like my plain, no sugar, no added flavor (or added anything...) tea. Bubble tea is usually a milk tea with tapioca balls ("bubbles") that sit on the bottom of the cup. But they also come up through your straw when you're drinking and I think it's gross. But, it's a phenomenon here, so they had to try it! The pics speak for themselves...

Trying BUBBLE TEA... do they like it?

Dad is a definite "NO" haha

Mom is a "maybe"

Remember when the malls used to be cluttered with all those rides for kids? I never really realized they had disappeared from when I was little.. until NOW. They are everywhere in KL.. and man do I hate them! As soon as we're about to leave the mall, there's one. Or as soon as I get Mads to lay down in the stroller and go to sleep, she spots one! Then all hell brakes loose if she doesn't get to ride! Here's a pic of Papa trying to get her off of one - haha! At least I can make Papa doing it this time :)

While Mads was in school one day I took mom & dad to tour a mosque by our house. This one is my favorite b/c of it's beautiful blue ceilings. Non-muslims are allowed to tour mosques during non-prayer times, so I checked the (moving target of) times on the website that morning and we slipped in between one of the 5 times of day they pray. When you walk into the entryway seen here, to the right is the wash room, equipped with dozens of small spouts for washing hands & feet, surrounding a larger "tub" for soaking entire body. Prayer-goers wash from head to toe before entering the main hall to pray. We didn't have to do that of course... and we actually weren't allowed to go in, but my mom got a peak and told me what it looked like :) We did have to be covered from head to toe, but since we were "not dressed properly" they gave us garments to wear while we walked around.

This is a good picture of the lady "pointing" to dad's legs. They point with their thumbs here.. Madison has even started picking it up.. kinda funny. Dad's garment barely covered his knees - hehe