Catching Some Zzzzz's

On a recent tour of the Old City of, amongst other interesting sights, including a rodent or two, not only are these guys taking a little siesta in the mid afternoon - they full out have their mattresses out in the middle of the street!  Only in Jakarta ...

Long Neck Tribes of Northern Thailand

This is one of my favorite pictures from our recent trip to Thailand. It is a photo of a young Padaung girl who has already began wearing the traditional brass rings around her neck. As she ages, there will be more and more rings added to her neck. The most I have heard of is 30 rings. I had the opportunity to try one of these on and let me tell you, they are definitely brass and definitely heavy!

It's Been a While

I apologize to all my dedicated followers for the lack of blog entries in the last few months. What can I say, other than the things I once found so interesting to blog about have now become my everyday life. Nontheless, I will try to update you more often on our countless adventures.

I recently said good-bye to my little bro who ventured out to the Big Durian once again this past February. Maya thoroughly enjoyed having her Wojo Peter around, and even gave mommy the boot a few times preferring to spend time with him. His holiday began with a shopping spree for a new wardrobe (my specialty!), a trip to Chinatown, some golf, a night out with some of our friends and of course a big Sunday brunch. Jared and Peter then took off for a few days to climb the active Mount Bromo. After a 3am wake up for a sunrise that they never saw, they returned back to Jakarta with some interesting stories to share.

A few days of rest and then off we went to Phuket, Thailand. Relaxing on the beach, filling our bellies with yummy Thai food and one crazy night in Patpong (of which I still don't know all the details) was how the bulk of our time was spent. Peter and I then had to say good-bye to Maya and Jared and off we flew to Chiangmai. First event - ATV tour up a 1400 meter mountain! I can't remember being this adventurous. With shaky legs afterwards, we shopped, shopped, shopped at the Night Bazaar. The next few days we explored the town and surrounding areas such as Elephant Camp and Tiger Kingdom. Our last few days were in Bangkok - crazy busy city but a must see. Beautiful temples and active nightlife later, and we were ready to go home. A quick but sad good-bye later, I was en route to Jakarta while Peter awaited his long journey back to Ottawa.

A lot of great some not so great (thanks Andy!) memories. Thanks for a great visit Peter!

Sawadeeka

Maya's 3rd Bday Party

On Saturday Feb 11th, we celebrated Maya's 3rd birthday. A little early, but her bestest friend Leo was off to Australia the following morning for a few weeks and what would a bday party be without your BFF!

What a great day it was! Filled with face painting, tattoos, balloon making, a surprise visit from Big Aussie Bob and band, snacks, cake and most importantly, great friends! The biggest thanks goes to our own Asing Idol for the amazing serenade of Maya's own song! What 3-year-old has had a song written especially just for them??? What an amazing memory she will have for the rest of her life.

Thanks everyone for making our little angels' day as miraculous as she is!

Singapore Sans Children

Our new pals Jon and Laura joined us for a fun-filled weekend at the nearby glamorous Singapore. My wonderful husband surprised me at Christmas with tickets to see "Wicked" at the famous Maria Bay Sands Hotel (the one that looks like it has a boat on top). He and Jon planned the weekend entirely including flights, hotels and restaurants. It was such a nice change not to play travel agent! We spent the weekend shopping, walking (I know, what a novelty!), eating X2 (there was a lot of this) and occasionally sipping on a few cocktails. And all this while being able to hold more than a 1 minute conversation without hearing "Noooo", "I don't want", "MOMMY!!!". Despite Maya not being around, she still managed to take home the most gifts from Singapore. Thanks guys for a great weekend!

A few Holiday Faves

A Note of Thanks

I just want to thank our amazing family and friends for welcoming us with open arms, adjusting their own hectic schedules to make room for our visits, and most importantly, making us feel incredibly loved and missed. This being our 3rd departure from Ottawa, we can honestly say it was (and still is), the hardest. Our holidays were so amazing, we miss you and love you all soooo much!