Our Indian Orientation- Kochi, Goa, Mumbai

After sending our students packing for the holidays, one final poker game of 2015, a couple hours of sleep and a short but very early flight to Kochin, we had our feet firmly planted on Indian ground for the next three weeks. As catching a glimpse of India has been a life-long travel dream for me, we had our sights set on seeing as much of the country as reasonably possible within our Christmas vacation. With that in mind, we clocked in with three flights, eight cities, fifty-four butter chickens (a low-ball estimate), seventy-five hours on the train, a hundred cups of chai and just over 4000 km of land travel.

Hanging around Kochi and waking up in our little train nook!

We landed in Kochi, in the South of India, ready to get our first taste of India (figuratively and literally) before boarding the night-train bound for Goa. We had an amazing day strolling the waterfront, stalking the free-roaming cows and gawking at the gaggles of beautifully sari clad women. It was a good day. However, as we were wandering the quaint, clean streets of Kochi we found ourselves often alone, no throngs of people, no animals, no chaos. Had all the fictional books set in India that I'd read been wrong? Nahhh, patience young grasshopper.

 That night we spent 15 hours on the train (of which I slept an amazing 10) to get to the beach. We spent a few nights in a beach hut with intermittent electricity, no wifi, easy access to butter masala and an ongoing parade of yoga posing beach-goers. Agonda Beach in Goa is the perfect mix of nothing going on, tiki bars and simply watching the cows come home. Although we could have easily whiled away our vacation at the beach, that was not the plan....onward to Mumbai!

Nothing to do but squat in a boat!

 As we rolled into Bollywood in the early morn, we were feeling a bit nervous about what was to unfold. Mumbai is a huge city and again our imaginations were running wild with the sights and scenes that danced in our heads (along with sugarplums..tis/twas the season). We checked in, had some sort of meal that was served on the hallway floor and hit the sights by foot. Amazingly, unlike the South, Mumbai is an absolute perfect temperature so we were happy to stroll around town all day and night--the pedometre was bouncing off the charts. We mainly stayed in the southern area of Mumbai called Colaba, the old British part of the city where the colonial architecture was oh so grand, grand, grand!  Besides strolling the streets, hitting up the monuments, the hectic Crawford market and ....Madonna themed slot machines, we spent our time declining roles in Bollywood films and posing for pictures--We couldn't help ourselves-- It's been awhile since we've felt the pseudo-fame that accompanies being in, but not a member of a mono-culture.
One of the best things we did in Mumbai was visit the Hanging Gardens in the late afternoon. Although the gardens themselves are nice to walk around, they are not overly impressive. They are however on top of a hill offering a sweet view of the stretching coastline of Mumbai. After grabbing a walking-chai and samosa to see us through until our next curry, we meandered back down the hill to catch the sunset along the coast, followed by a beautiful stroll home on Marine Drive. It was such a breath of fresh air to be in a city where the temperatures and sidewalks were made for walking. We enjoyed ourselves and the views so much that the next night we hit a rooftop and splashed out a bit. What a view, and a perfect example of the stark disparity in India; Life is moving in a million different directions in the same space and no one seems to notice. Bravo, to the clean, cosmopolitan *side of* Mumbai- We'll be back for our Bollywood film cameo :)

We briefly took a break from eating to check out the sights!

After clean, big-city bliss, relaxing beach-time and what felt like a good orientation to India, we had become (somewhat) accustomed to the constant honking, and lost the fear of food poisoning (clearly); We were poised to head north into Rajasthan looking for new landscapes, people and scenes!

Chiang Mai, Oh Mai!

For our first school break of the year Tyler and I uncharacteristically veered away from the beaches and headed for the hills, first landing in the mountains surrounding, then in the city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. As word-of-mouth reviews go, Chiang Mai was scoring off the charts, and the promise of cool, fresh mountain air was something our haze-huffing hurting lungs were looking for.

We spent the first couple of days outside the city in a very quiet, very green villa at the base of the mountains. Although the cool mist rolled around and it drizzled the entire time, we were happier than Ned Flanders on a fog-walk. Books were read (for an entertaining read check out The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair), naps were taken and misadventures were found on the ol' two-wheelers. Tyler and I have a knack for biting off more than we can chew about an hour before nightfall...As if the bicycle breakdown and good samaritan curbside service wasn't an indication that we should cut our tour short, we continued the wobbly ride to a roadside resty. After having an amazing Thai basil and chili ridden claypot and beer (which only later added to the comedy of errors), we struck off on our way home...but which way was home? Despite the impressive display of fireflies doing their best to light the way, rice paddies and jungle tend to all look the same after dark.

After spending a couple days in the mountains we headed back into the city where we continued to chill out, which is so incredibly easy to do in Chiang Mai. Again we were loving the drizzle and took the opportunity to buy a sweater (yay!), wandering the old part of the city, popping into temples and cafes. At night we perused the night markets, which were amazing! Yes, for the most part, they were selling merchandise that could be found in any S.E Asian market, but the beautiful thing was no one was yelling at you, no one was touching you, and we could actually fain interest without being immediately asked "You want, how much?" We were more than happy to spend the evenings strolling, getting refitted for tailored clothing, ducking in for a massage er two and watching Muay Thai of varying degrees and quality in venues of equal of lesser quality; From 14 year old Thai boys choreographing a fight in a Ladyboy Bar, to a scrappy Westerner getting chirped by the Thai cabbies in a makeshift ring behind a food-court. Entertainment is always easy to come by in Thailand.

I will say that although everything I had heard about Chiang Mai had met and exceeded expectations, I was, with increasing frustration searching for amazing Thai food and coming up short (I'm sure it's everywhere in Chiang Mai, we just weren't hitting the right spots.) So we made it ourselves; We spent an afternoon and evening grinding our own curry pastes, wielding cleavers and working the woks at a great cooking class. The best Pad Thai, coconut sticky rice, tom yam soup, spring rolls and green curry I ate all week came from our own efforts, which was almost worth the wait. If you want a recipe, let me know!

When on the last day we woke up and saw the sun shining, we headed straight for the pool and did not move until it was time to head for the airport. Although sunscreen would have been a responsible choice, we left Chiang Mai super relaxed and ready to head back to KL.

We weren't in KL a week before a crew hit the road to the food-famous island of Penang. Although great food is usually at the forefront of our missions, it was Oktoberfest that drew us in this particular weekend. Having never been to an Oktoberfest (in Germany or otherwise) we thought it was essential that we throw together some sort of German look...and intuition is rarely wrong. Admittedly, there was a split-second of self-doubt when we realized no one else had dressed up, it quickly dissipated as the steins and bratwurst started flowing and the dosey-doe-ing and arm wrestling got a bit out of hand. Overall, a solid, solid night...Followed by an expected lazy, lazy day at the beach. Happy Birthday Bridgey!

And finally, I am so happy to announce, that on the last day of the month, Tyler and I eloped!



Kidding....but it was another great Halloween  filled with ghouls, goblins, witches (good and evil) and this random couple that fell out of the sixties ;)

Fresh Start, New Year!

Who doesn't love September? For those who base their annual calendar around the school schedule it almost feels like the ringing in of a 'New Year'. Refreshed from extended holidays, 'new year' resolutions have been made and the mental 'clock' has been reset. Overall, it's been one for the books!

First, I am getting a do-over with my students. Both myself and my eclectic group of children have embarked on Year Two together. It was the smoothest first week of school to date, and I am excited to continue to watch the little grasshoppers hop...seriously, one month away from them offers a fresh perspective as to how bright and special each of them are! I know it sounds cliche, but for a student who wasn't reading when they left in June to casually mention "Did you know there is a two, to AND too!?" I almost fell off my chair! On an even brighter note (as if that description of my day-to-day couldn't get any more sun-shiny yellow) my newest colleague, Mr. Tyler has brightened all days! I still get shocked when I look up from some playground drama to see Tyler just strolling by.

As always, the first weekend before the school year starts is Malaysia's Independence Day...filling our deeply ingrained need for a 'labour day weekend' before heading back to school. Hutchy had rented a 14 seater van (which none of us were sure he could handle) and we were set to cruise through the night. Destination; Kapas Island. I had my quiet reservations about heading back to the island where I had picked up dysentry in the Spring, however, I hand-sanitized like a Mo, questioned the source of each ice cube, eventually said *^% it, and made it out unscathed....save the horrendous jellyfish stings. As most of our regular crew was still away on summer vacation, we got to know some new peeps and caught up with some old faithfuls. If time has proved anything, three days on a deserted island makes fast-friends.

Although things are fresh, new and exciting, as they often are in September, the city of Kuala Lumpur is currently none of those things. Since we have returned back, the haze levels have been fluctuating from moderate to hazardous due to the out of control burning of forests in Indonesia (all in the name of palm oil). It feels like we haven't seen the sun shine in days and days, face masks have become my new favourite accessory, school has been closed, and generally we're going a bit shack wacky  (with a hint of asthma) from all the indoor living (how indoor cats do it, I'll never know).

Rooftop view pre-haze & now during the seemingly perma-haze

 So what do you do with your time when the 'fresh air' is deemed poisonous? Well it's a bit like being in the deep freeze of winter-- You stay inside--We play poker, go to movies, spas, order-in, wander the mall...and celebrate fabulous people! With heavy hearts we have bid adieu to our original KL bestie, Sweet Dee. After working, living and traveling with Danielle for the past two years, it's hard to  imagine life in Malaysia without our ever-constant, over-ordering, drink-spilling, pun-loving, bright smiled, third wheeling, social butterfly. She and Damian are off on the next adventure!....However, not before one more night of Regalia nonsense was had to send them off <3

Adios amiga ♥♥♥ We love you!

 On the docket for the coming months...Thailand, Malaysian Oktoberfest, Deepavali, Indonesia and India! Anyone planning to be wandering around these parts? Let us know, we'll plan a weekender :)