More Phuket, Please.

To ease the hurt of having to get back in the swing of things for another school year, we took advantage of the first weekend back in Malaysia being a long one. Tyler and I hummed and hawed about destinations and flight prices right up until Friday afternoon, booking a flight for later that evening to Phuket, Thailand. This meant that Ty needed to race home at lunch (thank goodness for the 3-hour lunch break on Fridays due to Jumu'ah, the special Friday prayer for Muslims), and pack for the two of us. It also meant the we wore the same outfits for the entire weekend.
While waiting at the airport Starbucks, to my amusement both Hutchy and Danielle ran by, also buying last minute tickets. With the gang haphazardly assembled, we downed a latte and boarded for the quick 50 minute flight.

Since we were only going to be away for a few nights we decided to splash out and stay at a pretty decent resort (opposed to being at the mercy of a budget, and perhaps on the less classy side of things). And stay we did. Still feeling a touch jet lagged from our journey back from Canada, it was a perfect way to relax and get back on Asian time.

We had heard some serious mixed reviews about Phuket, and were pretty curious about the island that everyone seems to have an opinion about. We stayed in the main tourist area, Patong Beach, and from what we saw, we loved it!The beach was clean, the people were friendly, we felt safe and the curries were savory! I do understand that particular recreational activities in Thailand can be off putting to some, but as a crew not looking for seediness and certainly not reading too deeply into the nature of the entertainment business, Phuket at face-value is a ball!

By day we ordered room service and floated around the private pool attached to our room (did I mention we were aiming slightly above our regular budg?)Ty and Hutchy spent a day diving, we got spa treatments, hung out at the beach and ate massaman curry every chance we got!By night, we hit the main drag, Soi Bangla where the possibilities are endless. With the typical night market for dinner, fire shows, karaoke and street performers, the Chang beer, buckets and comedic situations were flowing.

Spending three days in Phuket was long enough to relax and see the lights of Patong Beach. Spending three days in Phuket was also short enough to ensure we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for flight sales. Until the next weekender, Phuket!

Oh Canada!

Oh Canada. Forever our absolute spirit boosting, balancing, perspective gaining landscape filled with resounding love, wide-open spaces, peaceful silence and breath-taking vistas. Biased as we are, Canada rocks.

After landing in Toronto and receiving lovely pickup service from one of my nearest and dearest Sarah, our first stop was a greasy spoon; Poutine, grilled cheese with a side of bacon and a large chocolate milk was the first order up, and damn it was good to be back! From there we made our way to my brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Michelle's house where my Mom was babysitting nephew Lyndon. After some tight squeezes and nephew cuddles we finally accepted that the sun was setting on the 40 hour day we had just endured (even if it was only 7pm). Being annexed to the basement worked perfectly for us, as we were both wide awake by 3am and seriously hungry. Settling for left over airplane peanuts as to not to wake a sleeping baby (Now we know what's the deal with airplane peanuts ;) we managed to get back to sleep, and there ended the dreaded jetjag. Yay!

Two guesses where I'm eating...but I bet you'll only need one.

 We awoke the next morning and I vaguely remembered it was my birthday! It was really great to actually see all of my family on my actual birthday...which hasn't happened since I was like 14. Birthday hugs and kisses were all round, but I was still missing a hug from my Dad. To remedy this, Mom fired up her car and we drove home. There are very few feelings that compare to coming home. I mean actually dropping your bags and flopping down on your childhood bed. It's pretty magical. We celebrated with a Mom-cooked meal, perused souvenirs and chatted, chatted, chatted. It was one of the best birthdays I have had!

The next day I was so lucky to spend the afternoon with some of the most quality ladies out there. Not only were most of my oldest and dearest friends assembled in one place, so were their Moms! It was a real blessing to wine, dine and share in each others' company. Many, many thanks to these girls for making time and taking the day off work <3

 

Ty totally rocks the Uncle gig.

Next we spent a few days at brother Aaron's playing, cuddling and running after Lyndon. Always valued family time, but man, tots are tiring! Not to mention, we were in awe of our eight month pregnant sister-in-law Michelle who kept up with little Lyndon!

After making the rounds with the Harwoods, it was time to head East! Since our families live 13 hours apart, we usually enjoy making a mini-vaca out of the trip...but as time was somewhat of the essence this time around, we did it in one shot. After jamming to some serious Canadian content radio (Quebec radio loves them some Celine Dion..but who doesn't?), a too close for comfort moose encounter, roadside poutines and way too many Red Bulls, we pulled into Harford Lane! The week we spent there went entirely too quickly; Between visiting Grandmas, bbqing, hitting the Farmer's Market, laughing it up with Cousin Kyle&Marcey, visits from honeymooners Leigh&Emily and Korean newlyweds Doug&Goun, and hanging out way too much at Dooly's, we left New Brunswick dragging our heels. I absolutely love visiting St. Stephen.  Everyone is so friendly and always ready for a chat :) Like I said, one week was not enough!

 Luckily our time with Tyler's family wasn't over. Ty's parents made the trek back to Ontario with us, meeting brother Micah, and spending a week at the cottage together. This launched our three week stay at the cottage; No T.V, no internet and no cell reception made for ultimate relaxation and break from our everyday life. Coupled with a solid week of rain and cool weather (a shocking 10 degrees!) we were loving life filled with sweaters, wood-stove fires, reading, wine, boardgames and non-stop laughs. Throw in visits with great family, good friends, an anniversary celebration (Kudos to Jen&Dave for being amazing role models!), and a ribfest, I can say the simple life is good!

Now, living in Asia for 4 years, we've missed a lot of family milestones. We are very fortunate to have traveled and to have experienced diverse cultures but with that we have missed both happy and grievous family moments . When chatting with friends about traveling abroad extensively and signing lengthy contracts in far away places, the biggest hesitation is often some variation of, "What if my Grandmother passes away?" There is no easy way around it, you can't have it both ways. Unfortunately (believe it or not) life goes on without you while you are away. If you are lucky, you have a supportive family at home. We are so lucky.  No matter the circumstances, our families include us from afar, and make efforts to be together when we can.
With that being said, this past year my Great Uncle Boyd, so near and dear to my heart passed away. Yes, we grieved him while in Malaysia, but it wasn't until we spent time as a family at his farm that I truly grieved. The hugs, "I love you"s, and laughter that day meant so much. It was the time spent together that served as a true reminder to me that we are part of a family unit that supports and sees each other through. For that, I am so grateful!

With one week left in Canada, we headed home to Brighton to await the arrival of the newest Harwood, (unbeknownst at the time) sweet baby Andrew. Although we were SO excited with the prospect of meeting Andrew upon his debut to the world...he decided he wasn't quite ready (arriving a week later, and not wanting it any other way!) While we all waited for the baby-phone call, we enjoyed a super relaxed week at home, visiting our lovely townies, doing laundry and packing suitcases. A perfect end to a perfect holiday!

ACTUALLY the most perfect way to end a holiday was having our flights delayed, complimentary airline lounges, spending a night in S. Korea and missing the first day of work. Yup,50+ hours later,  Toronto --> Kuala Lumpur is not an easy trip. Was it worth it? Hell Yes.

A Year End Review

Ok yes, this blog has been seriously neglected, but it's been one heck of a Spring....(and now summer)! With familiar faces from far away places, a diving trip to Indonesia, two crashed hard drives, report cards and beach days, our plates have been pretty full.

First, and most importantly, we have been lucky enough to have had an array of visitors this past year. We always feel so blessed that, when travelling, friends have taken the time to say 'Hi'. The nomads passing through are from all different parts of our past, including visits from Korean turned Singaporean expat Amanda, East Coast Canadian University friends Haley and Laura, Korean way-gook Melissa, and Tim, a neighbour from Korea. Our time spent together was filled with the most ridiculous conversations, creative sleeping arrangements (as per our studio apartment), and continuous laughs. Living in Kuala Lumpur, we are more on the beaten travellers' path than when we lived in South Korea. It's not that more people we know are travelling, we are just more conveniently located on the maps these days. As travelling through South East Asia can be awesomely different than home, we can speak from experience, that sometimes you need a break from squatter toilets, showering in your flip-flops, etc. We were more than excited to have friends stay with us, offer a hint of 'home-life' and show them some sights in KL as part of the self-dubbed 'MaryTylerMore Standard Premier Tour'. Although returning to these spots repeatedly with friends this year, they never get old. These people are hilarious.

As Laura and Haley left KL and headed for Bali, we thought we would join them for a long weekend. Our friend Hutchy, Tyler and I made the short trip to Gili Trawangan for the second time this year and were in ultimate relaxation mode in record time. I seriously scared myself with how long I could just sit and chill. We took a break from beach lounging to go diving each day, took in the sunsets, had a couple dark, wobbly bike rides home and came back super rested. Both Tyler and Hutchy had been wanting to get a Gopro for the past year, and they finally pulled the trigger! It was a lot of fun taking diving pics and videos, check 'em out!

Since the timeline on this blog post is seriously blurred, let's fast-forward to the now; While wrapping up the school year and all the work that accompanies it, we have remained in KL for the longest stretch this year: 6 weeks. As KL is a city with very limited green space, an often serious smog problem and endless concrete, it's been a bit tough for these two grass/tree/lake loving Canadians. Last weekend we decided enough was enough and went with a couple of friends to the closest beach, Port Dickson. The buzz around town is that Port Dickson is dirty, and not so loved. Although Ty&I had already visited P.D (and enjoyed it), our expectations for the day were low, and we were just happy to stretch our legs beyond the city limits. To our surprise, Port Dickson exceeded all expectations! We set up our umbrella, swam, built sandcastles, enjoyed the pool at a resort and returned home that evening. A perfect day trip and break from the city!

Finally, June 29th marked the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim month-long time of fasting. While living in Malaysia, where a dominant religion in Islam, I can say that, though it has been culturally informative, it has not really affected our lives....up until this point. So the deal with Ramadan is that Muslims don't eat or drink while the sun is up. They eat before and after. As you can imagine, the moment the sun goes down, the feast is on! In preparation for breaking the fast each night, there is a frenzy of shopping. Each street is lined with miles of food stalls offering curries, fresh fruit juices, noodles, chicken done in a hundred different ways, and desserts. As we have largely favoured Indian and Chinese food up until this point, this has been a great opportunity to try everything Malaysian. We've really gone for it! Since Ramadan has started, we have exclusively eaten Malaysian...and entering into the festive spirit, perhaps indulging in too many Malaysian delicacies. Everything just looks and smells so good! As wonderfully gluttonous as the Ramadan season has been, the major downside is the horrendous traffic that comes with it. As Malays want to shop, cook and be sitting at the set table ready to chow down the minute the sun sets and prayers have been said, traffic and subways have been a nightmare. Add thousands of parched, starving people in tropical heat to the mix, and things can get a bit dicey. With that being said, I seriously commend those fasting for not completely melting down by 6pm. Seriously, ask Tyler what it's like to be travelling around in the heat with me when I haven't eaten for four hours.

After finishing our first of a two-year contract, I've sent my students packing for Grade Two, and Tyler and I are packed to head home to Canada! We've since been in Canada for two weeks, and loving up all the time spent with our family and friends! Thank you to everyone who has welcomed us home :)