A Year in Review

It's been one year since we started our adventure halfway across the world - and WOW - what a year it has been! While some days have felt like a lifetime, at other times, I can't believe how fast it has gone by. We have had the amazing opportunity to see another part of the world, meet some wonderful people, and learn so, so much.

In the past year, we have:

• Explored six new countries:
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,  Vietnam; Cambodia
• Travelled via:
• Car, Airplane, Boat, Inflatable Raft, Canoe, Bamboo Raft, Bus, Subway, Taxi, Monorail,   Elephant, Oxcart, Cambodian Tuk-Tuk (not to be confused with a...), Thailand Tuk-Tuk, Cable Car, Sky Ride, Tram, Speedboat, Becak; Zip-line

• Made new friends from countless places including (but not limited to):
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand,  Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Korea, China,  Australia, California, Arizona, Florida, Texas,  Sweden, Norway, Canada, Brazil, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Hungary; Tawain
• Learned to play the Gamelan and the Angklung

• Dustin flew on his first airplane - and his second, and his third, and his fourth, and his fifth, and his sixth, and his (I've honestly lost count)...
  

• Hiked our first active volcano

• Hugged our first Tiger.

• Visited our first:
• Sultan's Palace, Safari, Ancient Temple, Floating Village, Hindu Temple; Monk Chat

In the past year, I have learned:

• Exactly where Indonesia is on the map.
• A little about 5 new religions: Islam, Balinese, Buddhism, Hinduism; Baha'i
• I can live without a dishwasher, but I really, REALLY miss my garbage disposal.
• A tuk-tuk is a fun way to explore a new country.

• How to distinctly identify the smell of a durian.
• I should have paid more attention to Metric Conversions in math class.
• Kids are able to play and become friends - even without speaking the same language.
• I'm not a big fan of traveling via oxcart.

• How quickly a family of four can get into the habit of taking their shoes off as soon as they get inside a building.
• Learning a new language is a lot of work.
• The inventor of Skype/FaceTime deserves a raise.

• "It's a Dry Heat" means absolutely nothing. I'll take this humidity over Arizona's dry heat any day!
• Cooking rice is a true art form (I'm talking real rice - not minute rice!)
• "Personal Space" means different things in different countries.
• Traditional Vietnamese music is...indescribable!

• Showing tolerance and understanding for different cultures will garner you the same respect in return.
• It's best to look for a blue taxi in Indonesia and a red taxi in Thailand.
• The ability to laugh at yourself is one of the greatest lessons you can learn.

• I've developed "itchy feet." I'm constantly planning what part of the world we will be exploring next (if you ever want to join us, let me know and I will give you a rundown of what's in the works!)
• Having a refrigerator roughly the same size as my four year old means daily trips to the grocery store.

• Things are not always black and white.  
• Grab it while you can...just because you see something here today, does not mean it will still be here tomorrow (nor will it be available anywhere for the next 6 months)
• Expect the unexpected - You never know when a giant Orangutan is going to fling a pile of poop at you.

• Patience is the key to living in any foreign country.
• Target is a WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL place!
• No matter how much I love Asian food, American food will always be my comfort food.

• Living in a hotel is not as glamorous (nor as horrible) as it sounds.
• Never go to the grocery store without at least two back-up plans for dinner. Typically, our dinner consists of one out of three planned meals depending on what ingredients are available at the store on that particular day.
• It's a small world - You're bound to run into someone you know in the oddest of places.
• My kids are much more resilient and open to adventure than I ever could have hoped.

• Someone calling everyday at 5:00PM to make sure we don't need housekeeping is strangely comforting (even though we have said no every time they have called for the past year).
• Just because it's 1.6 Kilometers away (1 mile), does not mean it will take you less than half an hour to get there.
• It's all about your attitude - After several months of hating the way we are constantly stared at, Emilie turned to me and said, "You know what Mom? They're always going to stare at us, so I've decided to stop being annoyed. I'm just going to smile at them and take it as a compliment."

• There are many differences between the cultures of the world - As well as many, many similarities
• Learning to say thank you in a country's native tongue goes a long way with the locals.
• The world is filled with truly wonderful, diverse people.

• I can't wait to see where the world takes us this year!

Kingdom of Cambodia - Part One

Cambodia is, without a doubt, one of my favorite places in the world.  The temples are amazing.  The countryside is beautiful.  The people are wonderful; And the culture is astounding.

We wasted no time once we arrived and immediately set off on our very first Tuk-Tuk adventure. We were able to enjoy the countryside as we headed to a boat ride and a tour of a floating village.

The boat ride along the Tonlé Sap lake was amazing. We had the opportunity to visit the Kampong Phluk floating village where fishing is a key element of life. We enjoyed observing adults and kids alike going about their daily fishing activities. We were also overtaken by a pirate! In exchange for our money, he left us with ice cold beverages...

Our pirate making a quick escape after taking our money! 

D-Man driving the boat.

We stopped at a floating market to do a little shopping. Uncle Smelly and Dustin also had the chance to hold a little snake. D-Man couldn't decide if this was such a good thing...

The floating village includes markets, schools, churches, and even this basketball court.

After our lake tour, we enjoyed a delicious meal at a local restaurant and quickly learned that credit cards are not widely accepted in Cambodia, but neither is the Cambodia Riel (the Cambodian currency).  We sent a very perplexed server off to try to convert our bill from USD to Riel. We later learned that the ATMs in Cambodia only dispense USD.  

Next, we headed out on a nice hike up to the Phnom Bakheng Temple. This, is one of over 1000 temples in the area, and is known for it's beautiful view of the famed Angkor Wat Temple as well as beautiful sunsets. Unfortunately, young children are not allowed up to the top of Phnom Bakheng so Dustin and Grammie hung back and did a little "marshmallow" roasting.

And our first day in the Kingdom of Cambodia was finished off in style - With an elephant ride into the sunset...

Click here to read The Rest of the Story.

Dustin's Dream Fulfilled

For whatever reason, the minute we moved to Indonesia, Dustin started expressing his desire to visit Malaysia (don't most American 3 & 4 year old boys dream about visiting Malaysia?).  With Grammie, Uncle Smelly, and Cristina visiting, he was finally going to get his wish!  We set out to meet them in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Dustin was beyond excited (I'm sure some of his excitement had to do with the company we would be meeting there...not just about going to Malaysia).

After 24 hours of traveling, Grammie, Smelly, and Cristina landed in Malaysia and we immediately whisked them out to see the Petronas Towers (no rest for the weary out here!).  The Petronas Towers are the 7th tallest buildings in the world.  We took the elevator to the 41st floor to explore the sky walk between the two towers then ventured up to the 86th floor for a beautiful view of Kuala Lumpur.

Our second part of the trip was arranged through a tour group. We were told - 

We will start the journey by visiting the Batu Caves Hindu Temple located at the outskirt of Kuala Lumpur City. These limestone caves are 400 million years old. There is a total of 272 steps leading up to the top of the main cave. Then we proceed our trip to main icons in Kuala Lumpur while heading to test real Malaysian Food. And now is time to Explore the Kuala Lumpur City. We drive past Bird Park "The World Largest Free-Flight Walk-In Aviary" through Brickfields, a colorful residential neighborhood just outside central Kuala Lumpur that's known as Little India due to the many Indian residents and businesses. We  proceed to Kuala Selangor town in the quiet hamlet of Kampung Kuantan, site of one of the largest firefly colonies in the world. On the way we will drive through villages and plantations. On arrival at Kuala Selangor, pay a visit to the Silver Leaf Monkeys before heading to fireflies at Bukit Melawati. See the sights here then proceed for a riverside seafood dinner and finally to nearby Kampung Kuantan for a riverboat ride to witness the fireflies display.The highlight of the tour. Row upstream in a small un-motorised boat (tongkang) or to Bukit Belimbing (battery operated motor boat) in the quiet darkness to witness the blinking trees. This scintillating display of fireflies portrays an image resembling a flashing Christmas tree. The synchronized, rhythmic flashing is produced by the thousands of fireflies found in the mangrove swamp of Kuala Selangor River. After the visit to fireflies, then we can fit in a visit back to Kuala Lumpur City for a short Night City Tour - You can choose to visit the Sky Bar located on the top floor of the Traders hotel, around the hotel's pool. It is partially open and offers amazing night time views of the Petronas Towers or China Town A unique night market with a wide variety of imitation goods - remember to bargain.

And now, you have seen just as much of this tour as we have! After waiting in the lobby of our hotel for a few hours and several attempts to reach the tour company, we threw in the towel and headed to the hotel swimming pool. Later that evening, we were finally contacted by the tour company with apologies and assurances that we would receive a full refund (which we did). Being stood up put a little damper on the trip to Malaysia, but Dustin still says it was the highlight of our multi-country tour (even after snuggling up with tigers in Thailand). Maybe one day we will head back to KL and try again to see these mythical creatures they call fireflies, but I think our next trip to Malaysia will be to some of the other amazing places my Malaysian friends have told me about.  

With Dustin's dream of visiting Malaysia fulfilled, he's now set his sights on...Paris!