Rachel Does Manila: Day 1

The 24 hours leading up to Rachel’s arrival in Manila were filled with non-stop pacing and a few mini panic attacks.  The mix of anticipation, concern and lack of control threw me into a tizzy.  Here’s the play by play.  She was 45 minutes late out of MSP airport due to a hold-up in Chicago, where the jet was coming from.  Then Denver set her back another 45 minutes due to de-icing.  It was not looking good.  There was a critical connection that she needed to make in Albequerque in order to get to Los Angeles in time for the flight to Taiwan.  (Yes, I am well aware that this sounds like a nightmare schedule).

The Albequerque flight was scheduled to take off at 8:35, but they held it until 8:45 when her plane arrived.  She ran to the next gate over and hopped on as the gates slammed shut.  At this point, we were watching flight tracker but had no idea if she’d made it or not.  We assumed the luggage was a lost cause.

I was over the moon when she called from LA to say that not only was she sitting on the Taiwan plane on the tarmac, but at the last minute she’d decided to downsize to a check-on only in case connections were tight.  I was in awe (seriously, who can pack in a carry-on for a 2 week trip???  Not me, that’s for sure).  We were golden – my friend was really going to make it here!  Not such a good start, but I was determined to make it up to her…

Rachel got in around 12:30 and we were home within the hour enjoying Norma’s specialty, Sweet and Sour Pork.  36 hours of flying and she was still smiling!  That’a girl!  We decided on an afternoon of pampering to keep her awake (she needed to get on our schedule) and went to Henri Calayag’s Salon to get the ultimate hair cut for her.  The picture above is the before shot.  The “Master Stylist” looked slightly apalled when she told him it hadn’t been cut since April!  :)

As I mentioned before, Filipino salons are the ultimate in pampering.  In total, the haircut took around 75 minutes.  The picture above shows the blow-out, which lasted a good 30 minutes.  That was before the “final cut” which took about as long as the “inital cut”.

This is my favorite shot from the day, taken during the “final cutting.”  Why bother using a hair clip when you can just have your assistant stand there and hold it???  Thank goodness for the assistant!

Rachel emerged a new woman with healthy, layered locks.  Next up we were off to Browhaus to both get a little eyebrow threading done.  I was so excited for Rachel since this was her very first time trying it.  As for me, I’m on my 4th time and am really starting to see the stylist’s vision for my brows!  :)

Here’s the after shot – isn’t she stunning?  And all for a mere $25!  Now that’s a great reason to stay awake… stay tuned to find out what’s on the big agenda for tomorrow.  There’s no time to rest, our days are filled to the brim.  I am honestly having a hard time editing the agenda to make sure it’s reasonable.  So much to show/do!  There’s nothing better than playing host, especially when it’s for one of my dear friends!

The Mis-adventures of Nick and Sarah’s First Manila Christmas

I swear, we tried our best.  There was a solid plan, we stuck to it steadfastly and yet…nothing quite turned out right.  Guess we’ll just chalk it up to that old adage “The best-laid plans oft go awry.”  In order to prevent you from making similar mistakes, we’d like to share the Top 5 Things We Learned:

Learning #5:  The 3D showing of Avatar on Christmas Eve will NOT have tickets available.  Plan accordingly.

Oops.  So much for getting the day off to a good start.  We watched the depressing movie “The Changeling” instead, in the comfort of our air-conditioned condo.  Not quite the same.

Learning #4: Minimize your expectations for the most grand and glorious hotel in the city when paying $50 a ticket for your meal.  The Peninsula’s buffet is still subject to cold food and lack of options.  Don’t go hungry.

A $50 meal here is pretty much the equivalent of a $250 meal in the US, so we were expecting it to be good.  Not so much… thank goodness we had wonderful company and amazing ambiance or I would have been really bummed.  Rudy was right, that is too much money for a meal in Manila.  Guess we should have listened…

Learning #3:When going to mass on Christmas Eve at a Catholic Church in the Philippines, understand the risk you are putting your life in.  Fire codes are non-existent and in the case of a fire, you would most likely perish.

10 PM Mass was crazy and chaotic, in typical Filipino fashion.  We managed to get two of the last seats, but were astounded when we turned around and saw that the passageways were 15 people deep with NO room for exiting.  Add to that the 200 people outside the church and it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.  And so much for the “English” mass – the entire homily was in Tagalog.  At least I could sing along with Silent Night though!

Learning #2:When people say they “might” come to your open house, it means they mean there’s a 1% chance they’ll show.  Plan food sparingly.

Christmas day was mellow and fun.  We skyped with our families, who were enjoying Christmas Eve in their time zone.  I was surprised to find that virtually bringing ourselves into our state-side family’s Christmases wasn’t nearly as weird as I thought it would be.  Gotta love technology.  We watched everyone open our gifts to them and then opened ours in exchange.  We even shot pictures of each other on the photo screen.  So bizarre.  Happily, I could feel the energy of my sisters through the screen and it was just like being there (almost).  Pretty cool…

We opened our presents and then began preparing for our Christmas open house from 1-5 PM.  We had loads of food and lots of maybe responses (with one firm Yes).  You guessed it, only our good friends Andrea and Brian showed (the firm Yes).  Thankfully, they are delightful company and saved our Christmas Open House from becoming a disaster.

Learning #1: People WILL surprise you.  Delight in the unexpected.

Despite everything that went wrong, I was humbled by the people that really came through for me.  First and foremost, my AMAZING husband Nick, who practically put on a circus for 2 days straight, trying to keep me from bursting into tears.  He was wildly successful and I can honestly say that I didn’t shed a tear for my beloved MN Christmas.  Pretty amazing that I could have such a great time with just 1 other person – it’s incredible how much you come to depend on your partner when you’re in a situation like this.  Thankfully, he keeps coming through time and time again.

I was also profoundly touched when Rudy showed up at our door at 4 PM on Christmas Eve to bring us a Christmas gift.  We know how hard it is for most Filipinos to find money for gifts and we would NEVER have expected a gift.  We were so touched that he took the time to travel to our place (never a short trip in Manila) and get meaningful gifts for us (unique pen sets).  Nick and I decided that was our favorite memory of the two days because it was so completely unexpected.

Also, to our wonderful parents as well, who spoiled us with more gifts than we could have ever imagined opening… a thousand thanks!

And finally, a shout out to Andrea and Brian who have become dear, dear friends and (as mentioned above), saved my Christmas Open House from being a failure.  We are so blessed to have them as friends and already love their little 3 week old Leni to pieces!

The End.  As always, lots and lots of pictures on SMUGMUG.  Peruse them at your own will…

Merry Christmas from Manila!

The Holidays Done Manila-style

Ah, what a strange time it’s been lately.  Holiday events wrapped up around the 15th because 50-60% of the expat population was going home.  I was doing really well up until the activity stopped and have fallen Grinch-y place over the last few days.  It’s just not fun when all the things you associate with Christmas are missing – like snow and sweaters and fires and wild rice casserole.  And then there are the strange things that show up – like the fireworks show pictured above that takes place right next to us each and every Friday in December.  So weird – Christmas & fireworks?  WRONG HOLIDAY PEOPLE.

Yes, I’m crabby.  And homesick.  But it will pass (because I’m working on an attitude adjustment).  There’s just so much ambiguity surrounding this first holiday away (and my first one EVER with Nick).  Nothing like longing for the familiar when you can’t have it.  And so we adapt.  Here’s our current schedule for the 24th and 25th:

Afternoon of the 24th: See Avatar in 3D
Evening of the 24th: Open 1 Present (Nick’s stupid rule- I’d open more), Dinner at a local Hotel & 10 PM Mass
Morning of the 25th: Skype with our families, Open the rest of our presents
Afternoon of the 25th: Host an Open House potluck for anyone that doesn’t have a place to go for Xmas

Seems like it should be a decent itinerary for our first year.  I wonder which traditions with stick!?

This week I treated myself to the ultimate in massages, the one I’ve been saving for the perfect occasion, just like a bottle of good wine.  Being that I needed a little Christmas pep-me-up, I decided the time was NOW.  I went over to my second home, The SPA at Greenbelt and requested the Twin Massage.  That’s right, you guessed it, two massage therapists working on me at the same time!  And for the unbelievably low price of $30!

SOOO indulgent.  One on the top half and one on the bottom for a full 60 minutes.  So unique…

It was borderline sensory overload for me.  Since I already have problems focusing for any amount of time, it was virtually impossible to try to ease myself into a calm place with that much activity going on.  But boy did my body feel good afterwards, even if I didn’t get to the “ohm” place that I usually find during a massage.  Definitely a must-try for those of you coming to visit!

PS- I added in a whole bunch of links to other foreign service blogs!  You’ll find the hyperlinks in the right column.  Enjoy!

More Tea Parties & My Very First Ornament Exchange!

I know you remember the horrible “biscuit” faux pas I made at my last tea party – well not this time!  I knew a scone when I saw one and dabbed it with clotted cream and jam.  Now that’s progress!  This holiday tea party and ornament exchange was put on for the members of the American Women’s Club of the Philippines.  It was a wonderful morning but please remind me to never host a tea myself, it looked like an INSANE amount of work!  There were little things to nibble on and 10 types of tea and beautiful decorations all around.  The host did such a marvelous job!  Check out these wonderful photos I got of the event:

Nick’s 30th Birthday Party

Sadly, as seems to be the case with our family lately, sickness rained on Nick’s birthday parade.  :(   Not exactly how you want to spend your 30th.  It was just stomach issues, so we decided he could survive a small party (we refuse to let this ongoing illness ruin all our fun).  We invited over 5 of Nick’s friends for a little Buco Pie (buco = young coconut).  The best pies come from South of Manila, so we sent Rudy on a wild goose chase to find the perfect pie.  6 hours later he returned with 5 pies (for 7 people).  Kudos to Rudy for finding the needle in the haystack.  It was worth it!  The attendees liked it too because each couple got to take home a pie of their own!

Nick couldn’t stomach the idea of beer, so two of his pals kindly volunteered to “test drive” his new San Miguel mugs.  How kind!

Our dear friends Andrea and Brian finally had their baby.  We were just enamoured with this 10 day old pumpkin!  She was the hit of the party.

Check out this great picture of Nick!  He looks completely unsure of what to do with her (support the head, support the head!!)  I was so proud of him for giving it a shot though… he’ll be a great Dad someday!  He was very attentive.

And here’s one last must-share picture of beautiful Leni.  Isn’t she stunning!?  Already looking forward to the next time I get to hold her…

Holiday Party at Friendship Home

I was in charge of designing a holiday party for the Friendship Home kids.  I was determined to make it highly memorable, introducing the kids to a few new holiday activities.  It didn’t take me long to decide on cookie decorating for the main activity.  Norma was in the kitchen for 2 days baking 60 cookies and making 6 different colors of frosting.  It was absolutely sensational – the kids ate it up, quite LITERALLY!

Their favorite part was the sprinkles, which they’d never seen before.  There was all sorts of curiosity about what they were.  When I demonstrated that they were edible, the kids were awed.  All of a sudden, sprinkles adorned every inch of every cookie!  Just look at these final products!

I thought it would be best to have two stations that the kids rotated betwen, so I came up with an art project as well.  I thought back to some of those classic holiday projects and finally decided upon the one where you wrap a piece of tissue paper around the end of the pencil and dip it in glue to create a Christmas object.  I waffled for a bit and almost didn’t do it because I thought it was too basic, but boy was I glad I did.  It may have been even more popular than the cookies.  Just another reminder that the things I take for granted or consider old and mundane are so fresh and exciting to these kids that have never experienced it before.  So great!  Here are some of their creations….bring back memories?

Random Holiday Updates

I’ve had some fun holiday-related experiences recently that I thought I’d share with you…been running short on time to blog lately, but I’ll try to do better next week!

1.  There are lots of holiday work parties taking place right now, as you might expect.  The thing that’s crazy about Filipino holiday parties is that every one has an elaborate song/dance competition.  No kidding.  Everyone gets up in groups to perform and then it’s usually judged.  And this is no half-ass attempt – they seriously practice for days.  Pretty cool tradition, if you ask me.  I can hardly imagine the boycotting of holiday parties that would ensue if the U.S. adapted a similar tradition!  HA!!

2. We’ve been pondering what Christmas present to get Rudy for quite some time now.  The thing is, he doesn’t really seem to need anything and when I try to question him regarding it, we don’t get anywhere.  One day I came up with a brilliant idea though.  You see, Rudy lives with his wife, daughter and their two grand-daughters.  Wouldn’t it be fabulous if he could take them out for an afternoon of family fun??  We came up with the idea of dinner and an IMAX movie at the Mall of Asia.  We knew McDonald’s was a big treat, so off I went to get a gift certificate.

That’s where I started running into problems.  Gift certificates are practically unheard of here.  After getting a series of “no, mum, not available” I asked to speak to the manager.  Oh, it was possible, all right – and fabulously convoluted.  In order to get my $10 gift certificate, I needed to place an order one week ahead.  Someone on staff would then drive to McDonald’s Manila head office to pick it up.  Next I’d be texted that it was available for pick-up and could come over and get it.  Unbelievable, huh?  It was the only way to get one though, so I did just that.  I sure hope Rudy enjoys his family outing!

3.  As for Norma, we had a better understanding of what her needs were.  Specifically, I knew that she wanted to go and visit her family down in the provinces.  It had been 9 years since she’d seen them and they’d never met her daughter who is almost 3.  I knew she had looked into boat and plane fares and that she couldn’t afford two round-trip tickets for she and her daughter.  Nick and I talked about it one night and decided to contribute 75% of the cost of the plane tickets.  We also did the booking for her to ensure that it happened.

It was pretty amazing to see the tears streaming from her eyes when we told her what her present was.  So much gratitude for something that only cost us $80……We booked the tickets for a 10 day period in January that coincided with her daughter’s birthday.  My favorite part of the story is that when she called and told her Dad the news, he said they were going to kill their best pig, lamb and chicken in honor of their coming!  Now that’s going to be one heck of a celebration!

I am feeling so thankful this season for the plentiful resources that we have to share.  I learned some powerful lessons about giving in the aftermath of Hurricane Ondoy.  I was truly humbled by the Filipinos who had lost a majority of what they had and willingly gave half of their remaining posessions to their neighbor in need.  Now that’s selfless.  It’s been so rewarding to show our gratitude to the Filipinos in our life that we’ve already come to love.  I see much more clearly now how much abundance Americans truly have (even in these hardest of times) and will never take the gift of my citizenship for granted again.  We are truly blessed!

Dreaming of a White Christmas That’s Not to Be…

Dear Minnesota Friends,

Please stop complaining about the snow on Facebook.  I do not feel sorry for you.  Yes, I know it’s cold and the hairs in your nose are freezing and that you’re sick of shoveling and your car got towed in the St. Paul Snow Emergency.  But that just gives you an extra excuse to treat yourself to Caribou and turn on the fireplace!

I can’t think of anything much better than a snow day – those were some of the most joyful days of the year – trapped in the house with nothing that you “need” to do….

I would pay some serious money for a white Christmas right about now.  In my perspective, you are the luckiest people on earth.  Who doesn’t love a nice fresh coat of snow for Christmas??  Take my word for it, Christmas just doesn’t feel the same when you’re sweating in a tank top.  So don’t expect me to give you any sympathy.  I would trade places with you in a heartbeat on Christmas day!  Another of the many things you have to be thankful for… just wanted to make sure you weren’t taking it for granted!

And P.S., I have yet to receive a single Christmas Card.  Please don’t forget about me – I’m starting to get a bit nervous.  Feel free to email if you need my address!

Big hugs,

Sarah

And for my CSB/SJU readers, a little memory of the golden years!

MN Toy Drive – Help Bennies and Johnnies Stuff the Link!

The CSB/SJU Young Alum Committee invites you to “Load the Link with Toys for Tots” on Saturday, Dec. 19! The mini-Link bus will collect donations at various Twin Cities stores throughout the day, and then head over to KARE 11 studios to be featured on the 10 p.m. news!

Buy a new toy or gift card, look for the white mini-Link in the store parking lot and make a donation!  Gifts for teenagers are especially appreciated. Toys and donations will be collected until 9 p.m.

Please Note: All Alumni and donors are invited to the newscast and following celebration at Cooper’s Pub/Restaurant in Golden Valley.

PLEASE COME SUPPORT TOYS FOR TOTS AND CSB/SJU
Show up in your CSB/SJU gear at KARE 11 studios by 9:45 p.m.

Mini-Link Itinerary:

Week of Dec. 14 to 18

CSB/SJU students, faculty, staff, and Alumnae/i can drop off new toys, money, and gift cards at either campus – Drop sites will be the Gorecki Dining and Conference Center at CSB and Sexton Commons Bookstore at SJU.

Saturday, Dec. 19

CSB/SJU alumnae/i can drop off new toys in the Twin Cities at the following times:

• 9 a.m.  Departing CSB/SJU with the mini-Link

• 10:30 a.m. to Noon  Shoreview Super Target

• 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Woodbury Target

• 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.  Bloomington Target

• 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  Eden Prairie Target

• 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Plymouth Super Target

• 9:30 p.m.  KARE 11 in Golden Valley

• 10:30 p.m.  Cooper’s Pub/Restaurant in Golden Valley

Amazing IMAX Wows the Kids…And the Adults!

As I lay in bed writing this post, I can honestly say that after 5 hours with 35 eleven and twelve year olds, Nick and I are officially exhausted.  But it’s a good exhaustion, one of those moments of exhaustion where your body has given out but you can’t wipe the smile off your face.  Because I’m pretty sure that today was bigger than Christmas for these kids…. And we all know that it doesn’t get much bigger than Christmas in the eyes of a kid!

As most of you know, I’ve been volunteering at Friendship Home since October.  It’s a home for children and also an after-school latch-key type program.  Our group goes every Wednesday from 4-6 PM and plans some activity to do with them.  Apparently it is tradition to do an extra holiday event each year, with all of the Embassy volunteers chipping in to fund it.  The event this year was a kid-tastic Mall of Asia Spectacular – Lunch at Jollibee (the Filipino version of McDonald’s), some playtime at the mall and a 1 PM showing of The Christmas Carol in 3D at the IMAX Theater.  But most importantly, I finally got to introduce Nick to these great kids!  I may have been just as excited as the kids!

When we arrived at Jollibee at 11 AM, the kids had already arrived and were broken out by table.  We were assigned to a group of 6 of them (pictured above), whom we were in charge of for the entire afternoon.  Lunch was a bizarre mix of Spaghetti and Fried Chicken, which I have yet to understand the appeal of.  The kids were in heaven though, biting every last piece of meat off that bone.  I opted for a Cheeseburger, which came with a strange mayo/thousand island mixture on it instead of the normal fixings.  Hmmm…not understanding the appeal of this place yet.  All that really mattered though was that the kiddos were happy.  Eating out is a very rare occurrence for them, which is hard to fathom coming from the US of A where that can often be a daily occurence.

After lunch we had a good hour to kill before the movie, so Nick and I rounded up our group and decided to go burn some energy out on the playground.  The Mall of Asia sits right on Manila Bay and there happens to be a little playground near the Boardwalk.  Thank goodness, because that’s exactly the type of thing that we needed!  They had a blast, even though in my opinion the playground was pretty crappy – basically it consisted of outdoor exercise equipment.  Very odd.  Didn’t matter though – they would have been content playing with a stick.  Lucky for us, they play amazingly well together.  They act just like brothers and sisters (except they never fight and have crushes on each other, as we learned today).  It’s really quite adorable!

You could feel the anticipation slowly building for the kids.  For many, this would be the very first movie they’d ever been to in the Theater.  And then, on top of that, it was 3D too.  It was all too exciting to handle and manifested itself in the form of non-stop bouncing.  They were wired!  10 minutes before the show we were all handed our goofy glasses and allowed to proceed into the theater.  The kids jaws dropped open as they took in the two-story-high screen.  The excitement just kept coming, as Nick and I surprised them with popcorn next.  The bouncing just kept on going!  :)

At last it was time for the show to begin.  We all put on our glasses and settled in.  The 3D effects were fantastic.  They really added a new dimension for those of us who are intimately familiar with the story (I was quoting the lines along with it, having acted in it 4 years in a row in high school).  They were awed by the things zooming at their faces and stuffing their heads in their shirts when the ghosts came…all in all, it was a heart-warming, fantastic experience.

I am really learning a great lesson here in Manila about how much joy I get in return when I give of my time and financial resources.  I have experienced it in Minnesota as well, but the poverty here really magnifies the impact.  My wish for you this holiday season, is that you will experience a “giving experience” that is equally as heart-warming.  Because all I know is that it doesn’t get much better than this!

P.S. – LOADS more adorable pictures of these kids at SMUGMUG.

Dreamy Bali – Photos Don’t Do it Justice…

I am well aware that I have been a horrible blogger lately and I promise to make it up to you.  Soon.  It’s just that there was the honeymoon and then the nasty cough decided to come back for round 2.  And those are my current excuses for today.  Please don’t stop reading, okay?  I promise to write more!

Time to wrap up the honeymoon with one last post about Bali.  So here goes… As I eluded to above, somewhere between Siem Reap and Bali my immune system went on the fritz again.  It started with a little cough, then some sniffles and poof! there goes all my energy.  Here’s the good news: Bali was a great place to be sick.  I even had a view from the bed.  I’d go take in some clean air, then hit the bed again for a nap.  Of the 5 days in Bali, the first 2 I functioned and the last 3 I was villa-bound.  Lucky for us we could get all our meals delivered straight to the villa!

Since I mentioned the villa, we’ll start there.  And what a villa it was!  This was definitely a honeymoon-worthy splurge and oh how we enjoyed it!  We stayed in a Terrace Villa Suite at the Viceroy Bali in Ubud.  With only 11 villas in the resort, the place felt like it was all ours.  We had worked with the hotel to craft a 5 night package for us.  It included a bottle of champagne, a flower bath, 2 hours of couple’s spa treatment, a 6 course degustation menu and round-trip transfers.

It far surpassed our expectations.  We loved the luxury boutique feel of the resort and the on-demand nature of the staff.  If we showed up in the lobby and asked to be driven to town, a car would be there in 5 minutes.  The answer was always yes, no matter what the request!  And every staff member knew our names and what activities we had scheduled for that day (not sure Nick liked that part as much as me).

Our favorite part of the villa was the terrace area.  We had our own private plunge pool (a first for us) and a fabulous Bale hut to relax in.  Nick pretty much just rotated between swimming and napping in the Bale.  I was more content to lounge on the edge of the pool, sipping my endless Diet Coke (the two-a-day rule goes out the door on vacation) and read books on the Kindle.  This was a definite stretch for me — laying around is not in my nature.  Luckily, it’s one of Nick’s best skills and he’s helping me ease into it.

When I think back on it, we really only did 4 different things in Bali.  We hung out in the villa 70% of the time, ventured into Ubud on 3 different occasions, had a fancy Thanksgiving Dinner at the resort’s restaurant and did a 2 hour white water rafting trip down the Ayung River.  Doesn’t sound like much when I write it out like that, but it proved to be a good way to unwind after the long days in Siem Reap.

I was a bit nervous to try out rafting since it had been 16 years since my last attempt.  The river proved to be fairly mild though…only class 2 and 3 rapids.  Enough to get your heart racing but not enough to bring on panic attacks.  One of our favorite parts of the rafting experience was jumping out of the boat and floating down a calm part of the river.  The water felt so good!  The waterfall was stunning too.  Definitely a must-do experience if you’re in Bali!  We used Sobek Adventures and they were absolute pros.

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner.  Our 6 courses were: Bread, an amuse bouche, scallops, soup, foie gras, tenderloin and chocolate lava cake (plus a 2nd honeymoon dessert).  Not quite what I’m used to but oh so good.  I had a ridiculous-size portion of foie gras (pictured below)!  Honestly, the steak paled in comparison.  And no one warned me to save room for 2 desserts!  Oh well, you’re supposed to feel sick after a Thanksgiving meal, right?

As always, if you want to see all the shots from Bali, head over to SMUGMUG.  In closing, I’ll leave you with an adorable shot of my husband, doing two of his favorite things – relaxing and being in the water!  Hoping you all had as wonderful of a holiday weekend as we did.  Thanks again to everyone who made this trip possible for us!

All Templed Out

I’m quite behind in my blogging, so I thought I’d use a moment of down time to fill you in!  Nick and I are adjusting nicely to Balinese life.  We are enjoying our private water bungalow and plunge pool the most.  It’s the perfect place to lounge the day away.  In contrast to Cambodia, I’ll sadly have very few photos to show you of Bali.

There are two factors preventing me from getting lots of shots.  The first is lack of motivation.  It’s so glorious just laying around here that we rarely leave our little paradise.  The second is that my wretched cough is back, so anytime I exert myself, I am rewarded with a cough attack.  Hence, we are staying put.  Maybe it’s God’s way of forcing me to sit still and enjoy Bali the way it’s meant to be enjoyed.  And it also means that we’ll have to come back… all the Cambodia shots are now up on SMUGMUG.  Do check them out!

So, rewinding about 8 days…we arrived around midnight in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Our flight wasn’t until 7 the next morning and the prospect of spending the night in the airport seemed like a horrible way to start the trip.  Happily, the Tune Hotel solved our dilemma.  Just a 10 minute walk from the low-cost terminal in Kuala Lumpur, the Tune Hotel is a pay-by-the-hour kind of place.  They price it in 12 and 24 hour increments and towels and AC are add-ons.  It’s obviously geared at the short-term guest or backpacker, as the rooms are only about 1 foot larger than bed (see above picture).  It’s dirt cheap though and met our needs quite nicely!  A very cool concept.

The Tara Angkor Hotel was our place of residence in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  This place was around $90 a night and incredibly classy.  Although it’s located a bit outside of town, the beauty of the facilities really makes up for that.  And with Tuk Tuk rides costing between $1-2, it doesn’t set you back much.  We would definitely recommend this place, but with one caveat.  While it seems like a steal of a deal, there were times when we were reminded that you get what you pay for, particularly when it came to guest service.  One night they wanted to charge us a $7 hotel fee for the $7 pizza we ordered in.  Also, our meals ordered at the hotel restaurant often came at different times, so one of us would be done eating by the time the other received their food.  That said, Cambodia is a new tourist destination and it was obvious that they are still growing into it.  Hopefully all the wrinkles will be worked out in a few years…

We hired a private driver and guide for 3 days to show us around the temples.  It was roughly $100 a day, which seemed well worth it to us.  We started the trip out with a bang by getting up at 5 AM to take in sunrise at Angkor Wat.  We arrived in the pitch black night – not an overhead light for miles.  Despite the early hour, I was quite   comfortable in a light sweater.  The stars were out in full as Mr. Son guided us into the temple with his flashlight.  It was a magical feeling, walking into such an ancient religious space (it was both a hindu and budhist temple).  As the first rays of light crested the temple, I took in a breath of fresh air and soaked it all in.  YES, we were a long way from Manila!  It was quite the memorable experience.  Once the sun came up, we spent the next 3 hours touring the temple.  The day was far from over though…

Next up was the temple complex of Angkor Tom.  There were several temples in this complex, with the most famous being Bayon (pictured above).  This was the place where we rode elephants (see previous post).  It was incredibly well preserved and took us about 2 hours to get through.  There were 2 more lesser-known temples after that.  The guide would have kept going, but we called it a day at 3 PM (hello, we’d been going since 5 AM – what kind of vacation is that?)  Day 1 was a success.

The next morning we started before 8 AM at Ta Prohm, also in the Angkor Tom complex.  This temple was unique in that trees and temples had fused together over hundreds of years.  This made for some of the most incredible sights yet.  The shot above is a great example of how the tree has overtaken the temple.  This was also the location where parts of Tomb Raider was filmed!  We managed to beat the crowds and pretty much had the place to ourselves.  This easily rose to the top as our favorite temple.  Day 2 ended with 2 more small temples and some shopping at the town market.

Day 3 was also quite unique.  We took a boat out to see the floating forest and a water village.  It was here that we got an up-close look at the rural lifestyle and had the opportunity to see what daily life looks like for a typical Cambodian.  There was a sharp contrast between our people interactions here versus in Manila.    The Cambodians were far more serious and shy, preferring to keep to themselves much of the time.  In fairness, the Cambodians are coming out of 30 years of civil war that saw 2 million of their people killed by a murderous regime under Pol Pot.

There is also the lingering fear of land mines, with an estimated 3 millionstill covering the country.  It’s hard to imagine not being able to go into your backyard for fear of losing a leg to a landmine.  Yet that has been the reality for many Cambodians.  Death is something that they are intimately familiar with.  With the memories still fresh, you can still sense the fear in the air.  Makes me thankful that I’ve never had to live through anything like that…

Our Next Family Addition – An elephant??

Greetings blog readers- Sarah here.  Remember me??  Sorry for the gap in posts!  I’ve really missed blogging these last few days, but the time and/or internet connection just wasn’t accessible.  Right now I’m currently in between flights, hanging out in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The first leg of our journey was absolutely spectacular!  Cambodia was worlds different than anything Nick and I have ever experienced.  I’m a bit too jet-lagged to go into a heavy recount of our adventures there, so I’ll save that for the next few days once we get settled in Bali (where we hope internet will be more readily available and I can blog on a consistent basis).  We are almost halfway into our trip, having spent 5 days/4 nights in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Hard to believe…

Today I’ll just share one of our favorite moments of the trip, which comes complete with photo documentation.  Being from MN, the only place I’ve ever seen an elephant is behind the bars at the zoo.  Let me tell you, being up close and personal was an entirely different story.  At Bayon Temple in Ankgor Tom we had the opportunity to ride an elephant around the perimeter of the temple.  What a trip it was being up that high and slowly feeling the animal’s weight shift from side to side as it stepped.  I was really struck with not only how majestic the elephant was up close, but also how gentle.  We were so taken with the animal that we joked about getting one as our first family pet.  Maybe if we ever live in Africa…. ha!

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the elephant ride (and for those of you who remember the great lengths I took to select the perfect hat, please note that it finally got some good use):

After we finished our temple lap, we were offered the chance to feed our elephant some bananas.  That part was actually cooler than riding the elephant because we got to be so close to the animal and play with him as we fed him banana after banana.  We were both shocked by how course his skin was and how much sucking power the trunk has.  What a multi-purpose tool it is.  Truly an incredible animal!  Here are some shots from the feeding:

Photographer’s Note: I took close to 500 photos in Cambodia.  I have edited them all, but the uploading is going quite slow… I do have the first 135 available for you to look at and will continue to upload once I have a strong internet connection.  All of the elephant shots are available right now at SMUGMUG.

Our Long-Awaited Honeymoon!

As many of you know, our honeymoon had to be indefinitely postponed after our May 2nd wedding due to our transfer to Manila.  We received incredibly generous wedding gifts to fund this trip and put it in a “honeymoon fund” until Nick had enough leave time accrued for us to go.  And so it is with great anticipation that we begin our 10 day excursion to Bali, Indonesia and Angkor Wat, Cambodia.  Both places have long been on our “Must See” list and will be ideal to check off before we have kids (whenever that may be – don’t read anything into that). Cambodia will be full of temple tours, while our time in Bali will be the exact opposite – lounging by our villa’s plunge pool.

Thanks to everyone that made this trip possible!  I’ll do my best to capture some gorgeous shots….and I’m sure we’ll have a story or two to share as well!  We wish you all a blessed Thanksgiving!  Please gorge yourself on turkey for us…pretty sure we won’t be able to find that.  We are THANKFUL for all the wonderful friends and family who continue to play such an active role in our life no matter how far away we are!  It has made our adjustment that much easier, and for that we are grateful.  Safe travels and happy eating!

Nick Goes Night Golfing

Nick took up golfing in Manila recently and even joined the Embassy Golf Club!  Last night he played his first round of night golf at one of the few public courses in the heart of Manila.  The fascinating thing about this course is that the 18 holes are built around the remnants of the old Spanish Fort called Intramuros.  This picture highlights it nicely!

Night is definitely the time to play, as it is hot, hot, hot during the day (as you can imagine).  And no powered carts here, although you will get a caddy to carry your clubs and an umbrella girl to block the sun while you’re making your shots… fascinating, huh?

And don’t expect to see any frogs or birds…Nick came across a crab last night!  So bizarre….

The Great Christmas Tree Expedition!

We had set the intention to put up the Christmas decorations this past weekend.  Like most things in Manila, it didn’t end up going at all according to plan.  The first problem we had was that none of Nick’s Xmas decor made it here and one of my boxes was missing (although I still had 6 more full of goodies, so I managed).  I started to get really frustrated though when we pulled out the tree and one of the legs to the tree stand was missing.  Nick could tell I was close to having a break-down (Xmas Decorating Day is one of my favorite of the entire year) and suggested that we buy a new tree together to commemorate our first Christmas.

I loved that idea, so off we went to go find our tree.  I was quite optimistic and thought that Landmark would have the best selection (even though I HATE shopping there).  And lo and behold, we found what we deemed to be the perfect tree.  Imagine my disappointment when the stock boy returns to utter my least favorite words: “Out of Stock, mum”.  Upon inquiring if there’d be more coming in, I got my second most dreaded phrase, “Maybe soon”.  Translation: Maybe NEVER.  More sadness for Sarah.

Then we went to store 2, which only had white or yellow or blue trees.  Apparently no one had told them that GREEN is the “in” color for trees.  That’s what I get for trying to find one in the tropics!  Store 3 was a bust too and now I really was close to tears.  Nick suggested we end for the day and try again tomorrow.

Day 2 yielded more disappointment at stores 4 and 5.  A $200 ugly tree was not on my wishlist.  In the end, we came full circle and returned to Landmark where we compromised and picked an acceptable tree.  Nick saved the day though by suggesting we jazz it up with lots of sparkly tree add-ons.  All of a sudden, my energy was back.  We had a blast picking out the stuff together and decorating the tree.  It didn’t even bother me that it took an hour for 4 people to hand-write out the SKU names of all 50 tree decorations we had purchased so they could reconcile their inventory and complete our purchase!

Here’s what we ended up with:

We donated our old tree to Norma and she happily accepted her very first Christmas Tree EVER (missing leg and all).  I couldn’t believe that she’d never had a tree!  That is so wrong… She was nearly in tears, she was so excited.  Well, who knew that my 10-year-old tree could bring that much joy?  So then I went digging for more holiday stuff to give her.  I found extra berries and ribbons and beads to adorn her tree.  She insisted that she’d never be able to create a tree like mine, so we did a demo and helped her practice.  Good heart-warming Christmas moment, if I do say so myself!

Nick’s creative brain was definitely on, as he came up with the brilliant idea of creating a MN-esque Christmas Tree topper.  We happened to find these fabulous sparkly Christmas maple tree leaves and created a one-of-kind topper.  I must say, I was so proud of my husband’s decorating skills – he did the entire top himself!  He made a very fine replacement for my mom, who’s been my decorating partner for the last 10 years.

Well, I think that’s enough about the Christmas decorations.  There are an ABSURD number of shots of the tree at SMUGMUG if you’re craving more.  Check them out!  Maybe, just maybe, Christmas in Manila is going to turn out okay after all…

Nick Gets Up Close and Personal with Hillary

BIG WEEK for Embassy Manila last week due to an impromptu visit from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  It was a whirlwind day and a half visit for her while on a tour of Southeast Asia.  Secretary of State visits require lots of orchestration, so each officer had a specific role during her visit.  Nick was part of a team that orchestrated a Meet and Greet for 1000+ mission staff.  He was fortunate enough to get a picture with her afterwars.  Pretty cool experience my hubby is getting!

Ode to a Neti Pot

There once was a house that fell ill

And racked up an emergency room bill.

They hacked all day and night

With no end in sight,

Thank God the Neti Pot works better than a pill.

WE LOVE YOU NETI!  Thanks for clearing up our sinuses.  You’re so much more reliable than Western Medicine!

Here’s a little educational video on how to use one:

For those who haven’t tried this before, no judging until you give it a shot.  Yeah, it feels super strange – but it works like a charm on sinus problems and allergies!   Neti pots are becoming so mainstream that you can even get one at Target!  Here’s the brand that we picked up before leaving, which includes 50 packets of the salt rinse you need to mix with the lukewarm water.  1/2 pot per nostril is our rule.  Experience the magic for yourself!

The Ralph Lauren of Pearls

After purchasing 5 sets of pearls for friends and family, I just couldn’t resist anymore.  The pearls were calling to me.  But not just ANY pearls, the Ralph Lauren set of Pearls… And by Ralph Lauren I’m not referring to cost (they were actually quite reasonable around $40), I’m referring to VERSATILITY.  Like any good set of pearls, you can showcase these pearls with the perfect suit or evening gown.  But the unique thing about the “Ralph Lauren” style is that they can be dressed down and look just as good with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt!  The perfect pearls, in my mind!

What makes them so versatile is that they can pick up any color in an outfit.  They are essentially an irridescent black with hints of purple, blue, green and pink.  Even in the two photographs I shot, they appear to be completely different colors.  That’s what makes them so fun!  I think I had known for awhile that this would be my first set ever since I laid eyes on them back in August.  It was just a matter of time…

The other part that makes me feel good is that I purchased them from Dam Good Stuff, a livelihood project that provides for families who were displaced from there homes when a dam was installed in the Pangasinan area 200 km north of Metro Manila.  Seems like a win-win situation to me!