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DSC05000, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

If you were in the boat with us, looking where I took this picture, you would have seen THOUSANDS of fireflies flashing, making the trees along the water blink like christmas trees. Apparently, the all stopped bllinking when the shutter opened.

Kidding; though I do wonder what it would take to capture something like that in a picture.

Frulwinn said she liked it. She spent most of the time worried that the mosquitos were going to bite her ankles, though. *sigh*

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DSC04995, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

After feeding monkeys, it was decided that we should feed ourselves.

Our tour companions were from Holland and Russia (Siberia!). They were quite friendly, but the fact that we all had our native tongues and our spouses with us limited group conversation somewhat. Luckily there was plenty of food to stuff our empty mouths with.

After eating, we went to another part of the river you see behind us. We all were here just for this moment...

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DSC04990, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Do I need to say anything about this? I didn't think so. Planning and getting sick (more on that later) and rescheduling and anything else are all worth it to see that girl smile.

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DSC04982, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Next we went on a tour which, unbeknownst to me, included feeding monkeys with food we had to purchase. I failed to see the novelty, but I think Frulwinn was amused.

Growing up in the country, I fed animals. Pets and stuff. But I knew a lot of people who also fed animals. Cows, chickens, pigs, horses, whatever. So feeding an animal just is lost on me. Sorry. Next slide!

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DSC04974, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Perhaps you know by now that I was all about pleasing the Mrs. on this trip. We had a really nice hotel, but when they got sketchy on the internet provisions I seized the moment and decided to check if anything else good was available. As a result, we got to spend the night in a five-star hotel.

The Mandarin Oriental KL is no joke. It was Fru's first time staying in a 5-star (it was mine, as well, but you know I have appearances to upkeep so I was decidedly ho-hum about the whole thing) and they really impressed her. This kinda worried me because even she noted that our trip was just getting better and better....could I keep up the pace?

BTW, the building right outside my window? That's the Petronas Towers.

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DSC04971, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

KL used to be the capital but it has recently been moved down south a bit. Still, this is the place to be and see.

After recoop'ing from the trip up, I took Fru down to the strip for a little shopping, then we went to the KL tower for a fantastic night view of the city.

The tower staff fitted us with headphones and we were told all about what we were seeing....even if we weren't really interested in knowing exactly. Lasting just a second longer than it should've it kinda prevented any "ooh"s and "aah"s I would have observed from Fru. Drat. still very nice.

Here you have a pic, from the tower, of the Petronas towers. These, until a few years ago, were the tallest structures in the world (incidentally, the KL Tower seems equally high due to being on a hill).

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DSC04961, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

After a wonderful garden tour I had planned to show my wife a wonderful view of Singapore and Malaysia as we made our way to Kuala Lumpur. But, as a bumbling procrastinator, I waited too long.

When we arrived at the Malaysia Railway Station we were surprised to find that the tickets were all sold for the train to KL. Through a stroke of good fortune, however, we were able to get two tickets from another couple who were exchanging for another day.

These were overnight seats, however. That means that the trainride was useless; the scenery was pitch black. The first class seating wasn't quite first class, either.

Anyway, we made it--arriving 6am the next day. As always, my lovely wife just smiles. She was just happy that we got there.

*sigh* Foiled again. I'm still not done though!

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DSC04942, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

When I was in high school, I asked Frulwinn what her favorite flower was. She told me that she really liked orchids. Since then, I've always thought about her whenever I run across mention of these flowers.

At the back of the Singapore Botanical is an Orchid Garden. In fact, I believe that it's the world's largest orchid garden. I made sure to put this on our list of things to do, hoping to see my wife swoon.

As we entered the garden, I asked her, "Aren't orchids your favorite flower?"

"No; Calla Lilies," she replied. "I think they're my mom's favorite though. She would love this."

*sigh*

I guess it's easy to see that time changes things. Oh well.

The safari excited her, and she did say she enjoyed the orchid garden. But I've still got tricks up my sleeve....

(btw, there's a ton of flower pics on flickr if you're interested. I tend to go crazy when in a garden with a camera.)

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DSC04936, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

The day after Christmas Fru and I went to the Singapore Botanical Gardens, a fantastic place that put's Daegu's poor little Arboretum to shame. I picked this place for something in particular....

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DSC04904, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

If anyone's ever wanted to vacation well but not spend a lot, southeast asia is your spot. We've had nothing but great hotels at dirt-cheap prices.

Our first hotel was Perak Lodge. Right between ethnic Little India and shop-tastic Bugis, this serene lodging cost us around US$50 a night!

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DSC04886, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Christmas night Frulwinn and I went on a night safari! Lots of live wild animals; also lots of fake lighted animals (for holiday decoration!). See the pictures at Flickr.

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DSC04885, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Evenings have their own delights.

BTW, anyone here who doesn't know...you can see all the pics and the ones I'm skipping at Flickr. See the pic at the bottom and click.

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DSC04883, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Christmas dinner was a onslaught of "firsts." First Christmas in hot weather, First Christmas in a country where Christianity is not the majority (so ALL stores were open! Sweet!), First time having pizza for the time-honored meal.....but all of the above were so good.

Fru and I walked the strip and then made one of our favorite pizza joints, California Pizza Kitchen, our Christmas Dinner Finalist. Delicious.

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DSC04877, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Pine and Fir trees aren't so common in tropical areas, but that doesn't mean we can't have a few holiday ornaments, right? :D

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DSC04875, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

Next to the church is the San Yu Adventist School. There were pictures in the church of staff and graduates of this school that went way back--so apparently it's a well-established educational institution here. Middle and high school, as I'm aware.

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DSC04872, originally uploaded by Leftsider.

No Leftsider tour is ever really underway without first finding the local Adventist community. There are about 7 churches in Singapore, sources say.

Here's the Chinese SDA Church on Thomson Rd which we attended Saturday, Christmas Eve.

Posting will be light-to-nonexistent for

Posting will be light-to-nonexistent for the holidays; Fru and I have just safely arrived in Singapore and will be seeing the sights here and in Malaysia.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

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Just now, and with little

Just now, and with little deliberation, I've decided to heretofore refer to my usual processes of trying new applications, mastering web techniques, learning new computer-related languages, dabbling in basic scripting and programming, figuring out computer software or hardware-related issues, web browsing and blogging as "scratching my nuts."

That was something I used to do quite often as a adolecent and high school student. It was an almost involuntary condition that happened on a constant basis--from when i first got up until I got back into bed. Sometimes it produed a pleasant satisfaction, while other times it had no effect at all. And, finally, people always gave me funny looks when i talked about it.

Yeah. it's really quite similar. Any objections are welcome in the comments section.