Into the Tickle Trunk

Ok, so this blog is being posted at least 2 months after it happen and was written. All I can say is that New Year's resolutions are in full-swing...one being to continue with this blog, finish and post an array of half-written posts. Now that I've written it down and put it out there on the internet....its gotta happen! Thanks for reading!

This year we were very excited to be in KL for Deepavali!  Deepavali is the festival of lights, celebrating the triumph of good over evil (there's a great animation on Youtube that explains the whole story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d2ZJxNxFao)...or as I like to describe it, 'Indian Christmas'. The lead up to Deepavali was great; Malls were decorated, cards were being sent, snacks and cookies were magically appearing.  We really had much more a feel for the celebration this year, as we were invited to a co-workers family home for lunch.The day of Deepavali was a public holiday (again, thank you Malaysia) so we sat around and ate cookies and snacks, had a big ol' feast of homemade curries and lamb, drank beer and visited. Sound familiar? The only difference between Christmas and Deepavali (besides, you know, the cultural and religious aspects -_-) was that instead of everyone sitting around in their jammies sipping Bailey's, our friends were wearing the most beautiful saris and jewelery to match. Honestly, the ladies were stunning! It was a great gathering (and strangely enough, the first time we have been in a Malaysian home since being here..All new experiences to be thankful for!)

Similarly to Christmas, Deepavali is celebrated for many days...which really jived well with us. Each night (and oddly day) the city was lit up with fireworks, and we continued to celebrate through the weekend, including a school celebration all day on the Friday. Complete with my own sari, henna and bindi, among other activities, we had one of the funnest dance parties I've been to in a long time. Bollywood dancing (lead by the superstar Magesh) with 40 laughing, bouncing kids all banging on their own instruments was a riot. A noisy, noisy riot. Teaching can be ridiculously fun sometimes. Needless to say, a great way to finish the school day before a two-week holiday.

Topical, eh?

Because of our school holiday being a couple weeks later than last year's, we also spent Halloween in Kuala Lumpur. Knowing that Halloween is pretty frowned upon by particular religious groups, we weren't expecting the level of sugar-induced spookiness we can all appreciate from home. However, we headed to a house-party in our condo, which struck a strong resemblance to a party at home...except there was about 30 nationalities present and no one was wearing their snowsuit under their costume ;) Seriously though, Hutchy did a great job making sure the place was strewn with cobwebs and Danielle did not disappoint on candy duty. Thanks neighbors!

The next morning Tyler and I headed to Langkawi for a week of beach sitting on the duty-free island that serves as a cheap and quick getaway to the expats of KL. Throughout the week we had a brief cameo from the wonderful Amandajuray, and were eventually joined by the whole KL gang as the week progressed and people shrugged off their work (or otherwise) duties. Our first order of business was to buy a cooler, stock it with ice and 50 cent beers. After 4 days of lounging, reading and general sloth-like behaviour we peeled ourselves off the lounge chairs and scooted to a couple waterfalls on the island. When we last visited Langkawi the waterfalls had been dried up, but being as we were teetering on monsoon season, the falls runneth over! We visited both Seven Wells Falls and Langkawi Falls, swimming in the deep pools of cold fresh water (I hate to be a complainer...but sometimes the ocean and pools are just too warm..and what's the deal with salt-water!?). It was such a good day, we had no qualms about doing it again the next day with our friends. It's no secret we love a good roadtrip, and nothing makes a roadtrip sweeter than a convoy...so we were pretty content to zip around the island with our swimsuit clad gang. Otherwise, we celebrated Sasha's birthday on the beach, watched some killer sunsets and generally chilled the eff out.