Jacob's Bar Mitzvah

Jacob was called up to the Torah on Saturday, February 28th, 2009. We are all proud of his accomplishments and he is now a man in the Jewish faith. Our family celebrated afterwards with a big party extraordinaire...

The theme (got to have a theme) was Jacob's World Tour. Based on the fact Jacob loves music and he has been fortunate to have travelled with his family to many corners of the earth at a young age.

Back in the US of A

The boys wanted to kiss the ground when we landed in Los Angeles this evening. We seem to always have fun travelling, however as Dorothy said "there's no place like home". Our 9 hour layover in China and the 11 hour trans-Pacific flight seemed to go by quickly knowing that we would be back in New Jersey on Saturday morning.

The Almeas family has become "lounge lizards" indeed during this two-week vacation. We spent a lot of time in the Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Siem Riep and Los Angeles Airport lounges and terminals. Kuala Lumpur has been rated the #1 Airport for many years and we agree - it's clean, great shops & restaurants (including a Harrods) and wonderful airport lounge. The monitors indicate the exact time the luggage will start coming off the conveyor belts and the free luggage carts magically connect on the escalators so there is no need to squeeze carts into the elevators. The airport lounge had shower facilities, computer terminals and an amazing buffet display. We stayed at the Pan Pacific Hotel at Kuala Lumpur Airport - rated the best airport hotel in the world. We checked into the hotel upon arrival in the terminal and were given a key. Porters arrive with golf carts (buggies) to pick you up in the terminal and whisk you right into the hotel lobby to the elevator. Upon check-out the buggies drive you back into the terminal and the porter walks your luggage to the check-in counter. Now that's service!


We now know every inch of the Guangzhou Airport - we were unable to leave the international terminal without a Chinese visa and "lounged" inbound 11 hours and return 9 hours in China Southern's first-class lounge. When we ventured for our many walks in the terminal we noticed that the airport concessions were pirating tourists by charging $11 for a cup of coffee and requesting payment in only US dollars. We begged the lounge hostess to bring in sandwiches today and they finally provided little finger sandwiches so we avoided "dealing" with the airport hawkers. We did not feel overly welcomed in China and I guess we over extended our lounge stay in the airport. By the way, Guangzhou is known as the most polluted city in the world, so being contained indoors might not have been such a bad experience after all.

We had a memorable New Year's Eve celebration in Cambodia under the stars. The resort created an amazing display of foods from around the world all under these beautifully decorated tents. We had a stage side table and enjoyed watching the local Cambodian folkloric dancers perform - the ladies tell a story with their hand movements similar to a hula dancer. The evening was capped off with a fireworks display and dancing to disco music. The resort was filled with guests from around the world and it . It was surreal dancing to Funky Town & YMCA with people from around the globe. New Year's Day we ended our stay at a children's orphanage. This visit was part of Jacob's Mitzvah Project for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah and we all enjoyed the tour of this well-managed facility set in the rural countryside. I'm not going into details because this is Jacob's story, but we were very impressed with the cleanliness and the smiling faces we encountered. I guess I thought all orphanages would be depressing with kids holding their empty plates in front of their faces saying " please sir, may I have some more". Jacob played soccer and flew some kites with boys his age. This was a positive start for a brand new year. We were energized knowing that we all can make a difference to others in need.

I know that life will quickly go back to normal once we arrive back home. The kids will want to catch up on their shows that have been recorded on the DVR, Roberta will want to get a start on the 7 large suitcases filled with dirty laundry and I will want to check-in on my business. I leave this Tuesday for Aspen on a business trip. No rest for the weary.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Gateway to the Temples of Angkor

Back in Time...






Our two-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Siem Reap, Cambodia was short, however when we landed within miles and miles of rice paddy fields we felt like this short flight took us back into time – back 100 years. We were unable to communicate with our airport driver and en route to the Le Meridien Hotel we saw a country that is mostly unchanged from today’s technology. The rural Cambodian countryside is poor and we saw few brick and mortar structures on the route to our hotel. We noticed during lunch in the hotel that the prices seemed very reasonable and later that evening we noticed the dinner prices to be down right cheap. We dined that evening in Viroths, one of the best Cambodian restaurants and entrees were $5.00 or less. We enjoyed multi-courses and drinks for just a bit over $60 for four people. We hired a tuk-tuk driver and he charged us $6 for the evening and waited for us during dinner.

I needed to find out more about the Cambodians, after all if we are paying very little for services in a tourist city then how much do these people earn and how can they support their families and save money for their future? My goal during our stay was to find out more.

Cambodia encountered a civil war throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The Khmer Rouge communist party controlled the country for years and it wasn’t until the early 1990s that this troubled nation became democratic. A royal family rules the country but not the politics. You travel to this remote countryside to visit Angkor, the 9th and 12th century holy city and capital city of the Khmer empire. The capital area had a population of over million people and the kings constructed vast waterworks and grand temples that cover several miles. The dozens of millennium-old temple ruins are now designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and protected. The significance of these temples and its visual impact put it in the same class with the pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal. We spent the day visiting just a few of the temples and taking in the rich history. We even saw the temple that was the centerpiece of the movie Tomb Raider.

We hired an English-speaking guide and a van driver all day today. It was difficult to understand our guide named Mao – but we were awed by the sheer size of these ancient temples and didn’t need too much detailed history. We are visiting during the dry season (just Dec & Jan) and the average temperature is in the high 80s / low 90s. Most of the year it rains and the temperature is in the 100s and extremely humid. Mao told me that the average monthly wages in the cities are $150 and the majority of the population earns $50 monthly. We began to understand why services are so low here. This is the land of the Killing Fields and there is a large population under 20 years of age and many people are still afraid to talk about politic. We do notice so many people staring at us as we walk into town – why do they stare? There are so many tourists in town but it can’t help you wonder if they are curious about modern life. Our clothes and shoes are clean and we leave tips behind. I did not see begging and we have felt safe.

So the world has changed with the times and Cambodia hasn’t entered the modern age. We were so impressed just a few days ago visiting Kuala Lumpur. The city was amazingly modern and we did not expect this from a Southeast Asian country. Now we’re encountering another Southeast Asian country and we assumed it would be a bit more modern, but life here hasn’t changed.

Our tuk-tuk driver from last night met us at the hotel to drive us tonight for another $6. We went to a very popular restaurant called Khmer Kitchen located in the Pub district. The area was created by the French colonists and is filled with open-air cafes, art galleries and bars galore. Dinner for 4 including drinks, 4 starters and soup cost $25 total – no need to go to an early-bird in Cambodia! The food has been much tastier than the cuisine in Malaysia – it’s a bit like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.

Tomorrow we plan on shopping in the markets to buy necessities for a local orphanage. We hope to bring a bit of hope and joy to a few Cambodians that might need it most. Today we learned about the Cambodian history and religion. Hopefully we can have more of an exchange with the locals and learn about their rich culture over the next few days. More to come… Happy & Healthy New Year!!!

A Tale of Two Cities...

Perception - You might think Malaysia is a third world country with a crowded & impoverished capital city. Not!

We're in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia and it so not what we ever imagined. The city is known as The Garden City of Lights. The city was founded less than 150 years ago for its tin mines. The British ruled the country and 50 years ago the country became independent. It is a multi-cultural and multi-racial country with 14 states and 9 royal families. Every 5 years one king rules the country and they cycle - so each region is represented. Mostly Muslim population, but also Hindu, Buddhist and Christen live in harmony together. We checked in on the 27 December to the Shangri-La Hotel just across the park from The Petronas Tower, the tallest twin towers in the world. It's awe inspiring and again the city skyline is not what you expect in this part of the world. Our hotel is a contemporary 5-star skyscraper. The top floor has a two-story swimming pool with retractable roof that doubles as a hip nightclub when the sun goes down. Their seems to be a staff of thousands providing some of the best service one can imagine and the rooms have state of the art electronics and amenities, such as a toilet seat with an automatic bidet built in the camode (strange yes, but it I must say refreshing...)

We had a wonderful tour guide the following day who took us throughout the capital. It is the cleanest city that I have ever seen. No signs of trash, graffiti or homeless population. Beautiful parks, fountains and spectacular new buildings galore.

One of the highlights was to a sacred Hindu shrine built in a bat cave up in the hillside surrounding Kuala Lumpur. So many Hindu pilgrims climbing up the over 200 steep stairs into the large caves filled with bats. Roberta and the boys made it up a quarter of the way and turned back down. I was determined to complete the walk, especially since their are hundreds of elderly barefoot ladies dressed in saris making the journey. I'm not sure if this trip has been my version of the TV show, Fear Factor, I needed to get pass the monkeys jumping down on people along the stairway and then ducking past the bats in the cave. I have a fear of most living creatures - so I ask myself "why do you do this to yourself?".... It was worth the climb and there is a small bit of self-fulfillment (along with photo proof that I did it!).

We then went on to Royal Selangor Pewter Center - to learn more about the power tin & pewter brought to Malaysia during the turn of last century. The museum and factory tour really was interesting. We then were enrolled in "The School of Hard Knocks" - a fun activity and where we each received a piece of flat pewter and were instructed to bang out a bowl. Well we all created interesting asymmetrical-looking bowls as a wonderful souvenir. After working up an appetite we were invited to a unique Relais y Chateau restaurant called Mandi-Mandi located on the out skirts of the city and set in a very upscale residential community. We were the only guests and were wined and dined in this lush tropical setting. The weather could not have been more perfect today and we truly enjoyed the local cuisine and the outdoor setting.

Many families ski, hike, camp and share other family outings together. The Almeas family enjoys trekking in air-conditioned malls and I think we found our retail mecca in Kuala Lumpur. I have been fortunate to travel and I've shopped in Las Vegas as well as Dubai where you can't imagine how all these malls can compete so close to the other and all stay in business. Well move over - Kuala Lumpur has won the retailer of the century award for the most retailers in such a small area. You name a retail shop anywhere in the world and there is an outlet in one of the dozen glass & marble multi-level malls all within 8 city blocks apart. Roberta died and went to heaven! My children felt like they were in Oz - it's hard to describe the frenzy my family felt when we entered the first mall and then the second and the third... it was like the time I first skied in Vail, Colorado and encountered the back bowl areas and learned that I could ski all day and never duplicate the same trail. What a feeling of excitement!!!

So when you get a chance, pop on over to Kuala Lumpur to discover that this is not the banana republic you assumed - it is a modern and vibrant city where there is a large Silicon Valley district, a large medical and university community and world-class dining, shops and museums. The city is multi-racial and there is little poverty. The city that was built on tin is now a shiny metropolis that compete with any Western city in the world.

On to Cambodia tomorrow morning, 29 December. I can almost bet we are going to go back in time and see what we imagined Malaysia was - third world.

Life's a Beach...

Christmas day –




Steven, Jacob and I took a snorkel excursion for the day to Pulau Payar – a marine park on an island about an hour by speedboat. We arrived and weren’t too pleased with the second-hand snorkel equipment offered on the tour. The weather was overcast and the sea a little rough. The fish were plentiful and we saw some beautiful tropical fish along he reefs. The highlight was feeding the fish when we were just waist-deep and creating large swarms of colorful fish frenzies around us.

We returned and found out that the resort upgraded us to a beach villa for the last 2 evenings during our stay. The villas are spectacular and we now have a private infinity-style pool, dining room, kitchen, maid’s room, huge great room, master bedroom and enormous bathroom. When we returned later that evening back to the villa, the maid filled the soaking tub with rose petals and bubbles – Steven dove right in!

The resort planned a wonderful Christmas dinner poolside but was brought into the ballroom due to the weather. The resort created a spectacular display of local and international foods for dinner. We were greeted with champagne and invited to a table with other resort guests. We met one British couple on their honeymoon and traveling for two months, another long-distance relationship couple he from Amsterdam and she from Finland and a US couple that work in Malaysia. We enjoyed the conversations and the local holiday entertainment on stage. We were greeted by Santa – not knowing he was a dark-skinned Malaysian man!

Today the weather was simply beautiful. We took advantage of our private pool and spent the day together around the pool. The resort gave us a Bose sound system for our Ipod – so we enjoyed some music, relaxed and soaked in the warm sun. We had lunch delivered to so we never left the compound. I’ve never felt so relaxed before… of course, I’m ready for our move tomorrow to Kuala Lumpur for some city life. It was a bit of a surreal evening listening to Christmas tunes like White Christmas at this beach resort….

A Fish Tale for Christmas

Big fish in a small pond… Click on the video below

Another beautiful day in paradise – we’re enjoying just “vegging” and taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the resort’s seaside tropical setting. Later in the day we had a guide drive us into the island’s interior to a mangrove forest. We followed a raised wooden walkway to a rustic Thai restaurant tucked deep inside the forest. As we neared the entrance monkeys munching on coconuts greeted us. Lunch was delicious. The chef prepared a selection of his best dishes and we especially enjoyed the whole sea bass served in a tangy sauce.

Next stop – a cable car excursion to the top of one of the highest peaks on the island. The venue is located in the rain forest and it must have been raining at the top of the park so the system was closed down when we arrived. As we exited the small village surrounding the cable car terminal we noticed a spa with a sign outside that read “fish spa” – of course we needed to find out more.

The spa had a super large tank filled with fish that suck dry skin from feet. Strange indeed so we knew we had to try it! Roberta did not want to chance ruing her pedicure so the Almeas men took to the challenge. We washed our feet first and then sat on the edge of the tank and saw swarms of little (and some not so little) fish circling the tank. At the count of 3 we agreed to dip our feet into what seemed to look like a piranha tank. Jacob & Steven took the plunge… they freaked out but eventually did mind the tingling feeling of hundreds of fish sucking their toes, ankles and heels. I on the other hand broke out in a cold sweat, hyperventilating and scared like a little girl to put my legs in a tank of feet sucking fish. The boys teased me and so did every person in the spa. I did want to yield to the pressure so I took a plush towel, stuck it in my mouth and slowly slipped my feet in the tank. Within 2 seconds the swarm of fish must have smelled fresh (or not so fresh) tootsies in the tank and attacked. I yelped and must have flicked a few dozen-toe suckers a few yards to the other side of the tank. It literally took more than 10 minutes to get me to keep my feet relaxed – well, honestly I was really never relaxed and I could have used a deep-tissue massage after all the tension. However, I was afraid the massage at this spa would consist of being placed in a tank of snakes! Long story short – the fish did a wonderful exfoliation job. No fish tale!

We made a quick stop to Eagle Square on our journey back to the resort. The past King (All 13 states in Malaysia have a king and every 5 years they rotate as king of the country) erected a huge eagle statue to attract visitors to Langkowi. The king felt this statue would be similar to the building of Big Ben for London or the Eiffel Tower for Paris. OK, it is kind of cool looking but I don’t know anyone who every said we must fly to Langkowi, Malaysia to see the enormous eagle statue. We took the obligatory family photo and left.

We received beautiful baskets of goodies and wine in our rooms to celebrate Christmas Eve – no Santa spotting this year. We enjoyed a Christmas dinner at the nearby Royal Langkowi Yacht Club. The facility overlooks the marina and it was decked out with a buffet complete with hats, horns, poppers, etc. – very festive. The British clientele wore their silly hats throughout the dinner. I tried grilled stingray – too chewy for me. The shrimp and squid are all local and delicious. We have a busy day planned tomorrow. The Almeas men are taking a full day excursion to the island’s marine park. We’ll sail to the reef and spend the day snorkeling in the clear water and swimming amongst the tropical marine life. After today’s fish spa adventure I’m confident the fish won’t be coming too close to us.

Wishing everyone a joyous Christmas. May everyone’s wishes be fulfilled this holiday season. Stay tuned for more…

Island Paradise - 1/2 way around the world

Greetings from Langkawi, Malaysia
After a total of 26 hours of actual flying time and 4 days of travel, we arrived halfway across the world. We are on the northwestern coast off the Malaysian peninsular in the Andaman Sea. There are 99 tropical islands that comprise Langkawi and each one is lush with clear emerald waters and fine sand beaches. Langkawi means in Malay reddish brown eagle and there are so many eagles flying over the islands – it is a spectacular sight because the eagles are so large and majestic.

Today was our first full day in Malaysia. Our time clock is way off and it seems like we get bursts of energy and then we are so tired that we can’t keep our head up. The Malaysian people are a mixed Asian race and we have found the people to be extremely friendly and sincere. They seem to be service oriented and willing to do whatever they can for tourists.

The Westin Resort & Spa is located in a beautiful setting on the beach and there are breathtaking views of the many uninhabited tropical islands and rock formations from the shoreline of the resort. This is the dry season and the weather is in the 80s/90s with refreshing trade winds that make it delightful weather. There are resort guests from so many countries - British, French, German, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong to name a few. We have spotted few Americans.

The Malaysian cuisine is similar to Thai food. Seafood is fresh and delicious – squid, shrimp and lobster are all in season right now. We have tried so many fresh unusual tropical fruits – it seems that some fruits are never imported to the US. We have been trying as many as possible – funny shapes, sizes each with a different taste. We had dinner tonight al fresco on the beach at a local lighthouse. English is widely spoken but we want to make sure the waiters don’t serve Jacob any food made with nuts. I had a local write a warning that we can show a waiter that states Jacob’s allergy to nuts. I showed this warning to the waiter tonight and he laughed and then he passed it to other waiters and the chef. They all laughed so perhaps this person that wrote the warning wrote something funny or derogative about us. We laughed along but tomorrow we’’ need to check this note out – no one wants to be a fool.

Roberta was in seventh heaven today – she basked in the sun from 10am until 4:30pm. Jacob didn’t get out of the pools all day. Steven and I explored the resort. We walked along the beach, saw the beautiful Westin Heavenly Spa and got a tour of the resort’s beachfront villas each with a private pool. Unfortunately the resort is sold out – but the guest rooms are all recently decorated and are wonderful.

We have so much planned in the next few days. We will be in Langkawi for 5 nights before heading on to Kuala Lumpur. I am exhausted now, so I’m going to sign off and update the blog as explore this little gem of an island.