A true sanctuary in every sense

Fresh roti canai with spicy dahl for dipping, all laid out on your banana leaf "plate"

How appropriate that our last day in KL we would make one last jaunt out to Raju’s, the place we had first breakfasted at when we arrived. Raju's is apparently one of the best roti canai headquarters in KL, as folk from all over the city head here. I had thought it was just a great place close to Allie and Anton’s. We walked over this time – people don't generally walk in KL – and this time we were meeting one last old friend of Ali’s, Deanna...a movie star, no less! Originally Swiss French – her Mum is Swiss and her Dad Malaysian – she has been in movies locally and abroad for the past 20 years. Not what you would expect in an "actress" as we think of them, Deanna is one soft spoken, lovely lovely friend. Perfectly fluent in English, French, German and Malay, she had all sorts of stories to tell us about her work and her life here in Malaysia. We even got a few more funny police stories. But I had better not put any of them up on the web, just in case the authorities come after me. But we had a good chuckle about Malay culture, and the pros and cons of living in KL.



Deanna joining us for brekkie on our last morning

We had some more yummy roti canai with fish curry dipping sauce and spicy dahl and the kids took photos this time of the roti dude as well as a short video (in honour of our breakfast company?) of the whole roti stretching and flipping thing. It really is quite neat to watch and I am hoping the video upload does it justice. Of course, Mr roti dude makes it look so easy, and both Ali and I are baffled as to how that superthin dough doesn’t tear. Roti canai is made with just flour, water and a tiny amount of oil, remember. Ali thinks it has something to do with when it is made and how long it rests. All I know is it is an incredibly deliciously simple breakfast item. Oh, and this time two of our kids had roti pisang, made with the addition of sliced bananas. Anyone's mouth watering yet?

Back home to attempt Take One of the MLPE (Massive Luggage Packing Event) in an effort to ensure we were within our weight limit. The big trip home on Saturday was not the issue, but rather our mini 45-minute flight from KL to Singapore via Tiger Airways, a discount airline. Being a discount airline, the flight is super cheap, however you prepay for (a) the number of pieces of luggage and (b) the weight of each piece. Here's where Ali's brilliant number calculation skills came in super handy. He estimated 5 bags (we came here with 4), the first two at 25kg each, third at 20kg and the last two at 15kg each. Carry-on was 7kg per bag, and only one bag each. See what I mean about tricky? Of course, for the larger-scale flight home, no issue at all as we are allowed 2 per person, each at 50lbs, and 2 check-in per persons (an allowance we never managed to use up).

Enough baggage about baggage.

Another flower interlude for Lynn, taken on Allie and Anton's street, on our way to Raju's for breakfast

A quick swim and lunch at home, we head off to our surprise: an elephant sanctuary. We had heard about it from someone, and were curious. I thought we would check it out first, as I am not one for captured animals or zoo scenes. And after the bird sanctuary and Allie's heads up about Malaysia and zoos, I wanted to make sure this was not some scam or something we would regret.

The elephant sanctuary, it turns out, was started by one single guy, in an effort to rescue elephants from all over South East Asia. Elephants who were old or no longer wanted. It is a completely unassuming place, along an extremely narrow road, deep in the Malaysian jungle yet only about 1/2 hour's drive from the highway. About one and half hours from KL, the exit is called Lancang (pronounced 'lanchung') – no mention of the sanctuary itself. But Ali's friend Richard had been there, so we knew it was all real. We arrive at a tiny parking lot (by tourist attraction standards) and start walking across this footbridge and path through the woods. There, in the clearing are about 8 or so elephants ranging in size, and a not-that-large gathering of some tourists and 2 school classes. No barriers, no cages, no confinement. It's all a bit surreal. The elephants are being introduced one by one by name and age – the youngest 8, i think, and the eldest 73 – and each elephant comes forward with very little prompting. After 10 minutes, introductions are over, and the next thing we see is a guy carrying two large flats absolutely overflowing with bananas, papayas, mangoes and watermelon, all in chunks the size of your shoe. We are encouraged to grab some fruit and feed the elephants their snack in one of two ways: either placing the fruit at the tip of their trunk, where there are two massive nostrils (!) or tucked into their mouths at the end and sort of underneath the trunk. We all feed them. These are happy, healthy and very peaceful elephants. And we are right there beside them. In fact, the shot below I took shows how close I am – no zoom used here.



One of the older Mama elephants

Snacktime is over quickly and a guy announces that anyone wanting a ride can head over to one of two raised sort of treehouse-looking platforms. The height is simply so you can get on the elephant. Ali takes photos and off Jordan and Taz go, and then Hannah and I are next as we wander around on a very wobbly elephant's back. I should add that these elephants are led simply by this one tiny Malaysian dude, who uses nothing but a few wiggly foot movements behind th elephants ears – no whips or sticks or shouting. And there are no barriers or anything. Of course the Mum in me also imagines that, should there suddenly be a massive stampede, we would, in fact, all be toast. But there is something so incredibly peaceful about this whole scene. These animals are absolutely stunning close up. I thought the physical power and grace of horses was my thing, but these creatures are incredibly beautiful, strong and gentle. Their eyes and the way they look at you is breathtaking, it really is. And the slow pace they do everything at only adds to their mystique. You can see why in the past they were considered nothing short of gods in some cultures.



The fence you see by the way is hardly a barrier, at about 10 feet long...I think it was more about us not surrounding the elephant or the elephant not devouring the entire tray of fruit in one go!

We spend only an hour here, but it is all so intensely real and uninterrupted. There is no admission, by the way, only donations to help fund the project. Another sign this is a genuine endeavour. There is no commercialism about the place (there is one tiny depanneur sized store on the way to the parking lot where you can get a juice or an ice cream), and it is really all about the elephants. In fact, when we were done our ride, off they all went. We asked where, and were told it was their dinnertime and time for a splash in the river. I had heard that on some occasions you can help bathe the elephants, but that was obviously not happening today. And that was very cool with us. We were the guests here, not the gawking invaders. I wish there were more places like these around the world. It has to be about saving all wildlife and ensuring their vital role in our ecosystem...and realising we are guests on this planet. This bit about owning and economics and capitalism is really quite absurd, especially when one is eye to eye with a 73 year old elephant mother. Awe-inspiring.

So, one and a half hours to get there, one hour there, and one and a half hours to get back to KL and it was all so worth it, we all agree.

Back to KL and traffic and tired hungry children and stopping by Ali’s Mum’s place and hitting rush hour traffic and general family breakdown point. Grabbed something at the grocery store to reheat at home and, as soon as we got there, the kids are desperate to finish their scavenger hunt. Not knowing how best to thank our incredibly wonderful hosts and friends – Allie, Anton, River and Kaelen – the kids decided to create this heavily anagram-clued scavenger hunt that would lead to some treat/surprise in the fridge. Oh. That would be my role in this project. My plan was to make some serious Canadian chocolate chip cookies, but alas that was not to be as I forgot to get chocolate chips. At the last minute I think of huffpuffs (no baking required, yeah!), so guess what I was doing at 10 at night on our last night in Malaysia? Mixing up guesstimate amounts of chocolate, butter and maple syrup (no Lyell’s golden syrup here!) with some rather thick organic Cornflakes, and then pressing it all into one glass dish (no paper muffin cups). It was then wrapped and “CONGRATULATIONS” written on the top. Taz and Jordan had written totally wacky clues, complete with intense anagrams and compass directions and who knows what else and had then taped them all over the house, beginning on the kitchen island. Hopefully the first note will be spotted by River and Kaelen when they come home this afternoon. Oh, it IS afternoon now. I have lost track of time. We are now on plane number three from Hongkong to Toronto. Much smoother trip than the one here...so far. Although I am still writing a letter to Air Canada when we get back. Their service, from booking cock-ups to the actual plane ride itself, has been abominable. Doesn’t help when you have a Singapore Airlines to compare it too. Now there is an airline that knows what they are doing and could teach Air Canada a few simple tips.

So, backtracking a bit to the next blog which was our last day in Singapore  – actually in Southeast Asia – yesterday...