Lots of firsts

Genevieve's first train ride- well except a little train at the Zoo Lights in Portland!An overnight train is a bit different- and as far as she is concerned~ WONDERFUL! I hope she remembers all of these adventures as she grows older-

Overnight Train to Chiang Mai

So FUN! We had a nice dinner at the train station. I even had a beer which I rarely do~ drink beer. Devin had an amazing meal in a young coconut. Nevi had something called American fried rice.....everytime we see rice USA or American something we are always amazed at what comes out. One time it was rice with ketchup mixed in...this time it was fried rice with a piece of fried chicken, two hot dogs, a fried egg and I think that was it.

Then we got on the train. We went 1st class which means you have your own little compartment. See above- little is right- but it was perfect. Devin and Nevi slept together on the top bunk, and I had the lower to myself- luxury. We had a little sink and then down at the other end of the car was the communal squat toilet. We had such a great time staring out the window...Devin and Nevi would walk the cars and we all slept~ some. Nevi slept great....Devin pretty well and me- well not so much, but I loved it! This was a great way to travel from Bangkok to Northern Thailand- when we woke we had breakfast and watch the beautiful land pass us by! 14 hours and we were there!

suit

After the first meeting ~choosing the material and taking measurements...we came back a week later for the fitting. We arrived at about Noon- the fitting took about 10 minutes and then the completed three piece suit and custum shirt was delivered to our hotel that evening by 8pm. All for about $200 USD. Incredible. This suit is as beautiful as the first one. Now Devin just needs an excuse to wear it!

Tailor

When Devin was in Bangkok last year, he found this wonderful tailor and had a suit made. It is so beautiful~ so we came back all together and had another one made! Genevieve got a lesson in design, measuring, sketching and cutting!

Chicken Claw

Okay- this is Devin eating a chicken claw that was in our delicious lunch. Not attractive, but real. Devin has proven over and over- he will eat anything. So far he has had frog, all the organs and intestines of a cow and now this chicken claw. He is alone in this portion of our journey. But seriously~what a guy!

Images of Bangkok

Tuk Tuk's are a common and yet fading way to travel about in a city or town- really it is more of a tourist thing than transportation these days. But of course we needed to experience it...here is our driver talking to another driver trying to figure out where it is we wanted to go- even though Devin was showing it on a map:)

Long boat on the Canal

Ferry

food and cleavage

Oh the food in Thailand was incredible. Fresh herbs are the secret! Devin picked this dish up on the street near by...and he got this shot of the yummy food and my fabulous cleavage! ooo lala.

Soi 6

Enjoying a cool drink on the street (Soi). Nevi and I had a fresh coconut filled with its coconut water nectar delight and Devin had his favorite coconut milk with green chendal noodles mixed in!

BANGKOK

First stop on our Thailand journey was Bangkok! Bangkok is emmense, busy, over stimulating, amazing, colorful, smog filled, vibrant, endless, fabulous, and more. We really only saw a small corner- it would take months to know the city. We only spent one day and one night on this end of the trip. Here is the view from the roof of our hotel.

Singapore Airport

The Singapore airport is 5 star. Great resturants, coffee, massages, hotels, prayer rooms, and SPA's. We had lots of time before our flight to Bangkok. A specialty around these parts is a FISH SPA. Yup, little fish who eat the dead skin off of you. It does not hurt- they just nibble/suck on you. Devin and Nevi have been dying to try it out- so father and daughter had some spa time!

Nevi's little feet.

ooops added this twice- maybe cause it is cute!

baju kurung

Here is Nevi in the Baju Kurung. Especially during Hari Raya children are given new clothes. How could we deprive Nevi of the same.

Perfect Muslim child...

The tadung (head scarf) as it is called will only be worn at home and not out on the street...we do not want to offend anyone. Somehow Nevi wearing the traditional clothes is accepted, but we have never seen the tadung worn....so she has been advised that it is for our home only. A hard concept for her to understand, but alas I think we have made it clear. How do we assimilate into a culture without offending at the same time?

Such a beautiful child...what an experience! Tonight we are joining some friends to attend the Ramadan buffet here at the resort. It consists of table upon table of traditional Malay food! Everyone gets dressed up and breaks fast for their evening meal any time after 7pm. Tonight Nevi will wear her new Baju Kurung and celebrate Hari Raya which is tomorrow. You can really feel the energy in the air that tomorrow the month long fast ends!

Sorrow in passing

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary passed away today after a long struggle with Leukemia and the side affects caused by chemotherapy. My whole childhood was enhanced by their music. My ideologies were formed with their passion, gentleness, sound, rythmn, and presence. As a young girl who needed music to help express all that I felt- P, P & M set a stage for me to bloom and feel and grow. To this day, I weep with certain reminders of notes...I adore my daughter singing along as I do...It is a sad day to let go of such a strong, couageous, course, deep voiced, pioneer woman. I treasure her gifts as well as those of the dynamic trio. Today, here in Malaysia- Nevi and I will for sure be singing and listening to Mary's voice.

Holiday

So Hari Raya is quickly approaching. Everyone is out buying new clothes for the children, new curtains for the living room, new furniture for the house, stuffing small green envelopes with crisp new bills to give to the children. Once the month of fasting is over on Saturday- then there is a whole month of everyone visiting each other in their homes. So everything needs to be clean and fresh and new! Other things happen during Hari Raya too- people travel long distances back to their own villages- so there is a mass exodus which I have been told begins tomorrow. Yesterday when I collected Genevieve from school, I was informed that the governement has decided to give everyone Friday off from school. Why? To try and ease the traffic and craziness on the road as everyone goes to their homes to be with family. The Gov decided it might help to have an extra day for travel- so everyone was not leaving after work on Friday or Saturday. Not only that, but the speed limit on all major roads has been dropped for the next week- where it is usually 110 KM per hour it is now a strict (???) 80! I asked a local freind if this helps....he said, " a bit". In the newspapers there is all this talk about driving safety....etc. Oh my I am glad we are going out of town!

New Expressway

This is the view out our windshield of the newly opened E 22! It is a new expressway. The road system here in Southern Malaysia is constantly under construction. That is a good thing- cause roads wind around and often do not go where you need them too- so you have to drive the wrong way until you can pull a U turn and then go the way you want to go. The new E 22...eventually will make the trip to the eastern coast much shorter than it is. Right now it takes 1 and a half hours....(more like 2), and with the E22 it will be cut in half. But here is the deal...the new expressway was great yesterday until it simply ended into a dirt road! Yup. The part that is open was beautiful and clear sailing- but it is not complete...even the projected bridge that needs to be built over the Johor River is non existent. For now- you can only go so far...and we will not hold our breath to see it's completion in the time we are living here. But what a nice ride most of the way to the coast!

Desaru Beach

Yesterday, we decided we needed a family adventure. A day at the beach. So we drove about an hour and a half to the east coast.
Here is Nevi communing with the sea. She sat for a while just singing to the ocean, diggin in the sand, dippin in the waters of the South China sea. One of the things I think she misses most about home is having the space and the freedom to play outside. It was wonderful to see her in her element!

Ahhhhhhhhh

What fun to be at the beach. Desaru beach is 22km long. We were all alone. And not because it isn't beautiful or safe or anything. I think because it was HOT! But seriously, can't think of a better thing to do on a Sunday than spend some time at a tropical beach- all to ourselves!

Here is Nevi~ swirling and dancing while she builds a sand castle. Ahhh, the freedom of space.

Devin has finally got a few quiet minutes to absorb some sun and to talk on the phone with his pal, Brian.

And I am sitting under a palm delighted with our family adventure!!!

Sarah

I love the beach. I love the sun. I love the tropics. But guess what...it is freakin hot here a few degrees off the equator. My face is not sun burnt ...in fact I had just gotten to the beach and have 50 sunscreen all over. This is my flushed face look with heat and humidity. But, oh so happy to be on sand ~ by the sound of the waves and watching our daughter have room to play and dance and sing. What a lovely day we had together as a family!

more monkies

These guys are coming right to the car. There are signs everywhere that say- Please do not feed the monkies. Devin put his hand out the window and they came out of the bushes right away thinking they would get a snack! Trust me you do not want a monkey in the car with you...that happend to me once when I lived in Kenya. So , we rolled up the windows and let the scene!

When we were leaving the beach at the end of our day, monkies were all over the road. This one crossed right in front of the car and up the phone poll. Crazy monkies! And this is what reminds us we live in Asia, and we are not in West Linn.

After the monkies in the street... a ways down the road, I saw the largest ostrich I have seen since in the bush in Kenya. Now, he was behind a small wire fence and not roaming down the street, but still when was the last time you drove by an ostrich just hanging out????

Pink Bicycle

I know very little about photography- sometimes I wish I knew more cause being in this colorful and diverse place makes me want to capture it and actually do justice. But I am a point and shoot kinda girl. Sometimes it works out for me. So far, this is my favorite point and click. I watched this man cross the street and then start riding while I was at a stop light in our car. I loved that the bike was a bit small and loved even more that it is a beautiful pink!

Nevi's creation

Nevi helped make good old Burrito's the other night. She delicately sliced little tomatoes, cut lettuce, sliced cucumber, spread the beans, sprinkled the cheese and YUM gobbled 'em up like she had not been eating for three months! The simple pleasures and reminders of home. And she took the picture for the blog~

Thank you

Thank you Aunt Jen and Uncle Jason for the new barbie clothes!!!!!!!!

and for dessert

Fresh watermelon and strawberries! Oh so fabulous to live in a tropical place- the fruit is wonderful all year long!

our dinner

From Nevi's stir fry...I made Devin and me ~Chicken Curry (Kari Ayam). Nevi likes the curry  part, but not the spicy part! I think I could eat curry each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner...good thing I live here where many do!!!

Another favorite dinner

Nevi loved her dinner the other night. Steamed rice, sliced cucumber and a stir fry of cabbage, carrots, chicken, red pepper, onion and green beans! Yahoo.

Martini

Malaysia being a Muslim country and all has cut back seriously on my alcohol consumption. Even though I ma not a big drinker- my liver is probabaly thrilled. A new dear friend of mine, Kate brought us some olives from Singapore the other day. When I saw them- all I could think was I need a vodka martini! This girl is in luck...the last time we were in the airport, Devin bought a bottle of Vodka in duty free. Took me a few days to remember it was in the freezer- pure delicious. Sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder in more ways than one!

Sarah, What do you do with your time?

Everyone knows that we explore on the weekends. Everyone knows that Devin works his tail off all week. Everyone knows that Genevieve goes to school each day. But what does Sarah do? Good question. This is a new time for me. In the States, I have a private practice in Counseling, I ran the Parent Association at Nevi's school as well as ran their annual Auction, I was always busy running here and there -doing this and that and never really knew how to sit around. Well! Once Nevi and Devin are at school/work- my life looks like this- I have a cup of tea or coffee and check my email. I update this here blog. I call my mother often. Then I head for the gym. This little yet adequate gym is right here where we live. I have been trying really hard to go to the gym 4-5 times a week. This amount is un heard of when I am at home. I am lucky if I get to a pilates class once a week at home. But here- well let's say I have made it a priority- because I can!
With Nevi's school day short and I commute with her in the morning- I really have about three-four hours without her each day. I can hear Devin now.....what he would give for 3-4 hours alone! I do not take this time for granted in the least.
Anyway- I use my alone time for quiet reflection, planning our next family travel adventures, booking hotels, trains, airlines, emailing with friends, learning Malay, working out, reading, yoga, grocery shopping, organizing our apartment, creating things for Nevi and I to do in the afternoon- like art projects, home school work and games...and I challenge myself to be ok with just this...my over-achiever self is aggitated- my new, slowing down, self is well, being born.
I am excited when Nevi gets home as my primary focus here is being a present, energetic, more fit, connected Mother/Playmate for her. I know the day is coming when she will choose her friends over time with me. I know the time is coming when hanging with your parents is well- not enough. But right now- in this moment- she LOVES being with me...she LOVES being with Devin and she LOVES being together as a family. So, I am reminding myself of this precious togetherness everyday and delighting in the priviledge that is coming with this time abroad to just BE with our daughter and with my quiet self. Ok my treadmill awaits my feet~

more gym

This is about what there is...enough to get the job done.

View

Here is what I look at from the treadmill- not so bad! Especially great when Nevi has her swimming lesson once a week!

Sarah

                                                        Here I am on the treadmill

Monkies

This monkey family was just roaming around the park where Devin and Mike were hiking. When Devin got too close- they hissed at him. We have video to prove it. Don't you know to never get too close to a Mama with her baby????