WHAT A GREAT VACATION

WOW, WOW , WOW!!! What a great vacation. We had such a good time. For the last 2 weeks, we travelled to three different places, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. It was very tiring but so worth it. The kids had such a good time with family. It was so relaxing and we absolutely had so much fun and dreaded to come back. The people were so friendly and polite and had such a soft and sweet way of speaking. Everyone was so helpful, filled with smiles and just seemed so happy. Anyone we passed by would say hello or smiled. I felt very comfortable right away.

Our first stop was in Malaysia. It is such a beautiful country. The weather was hot and is usually around 80 degrees all year around. I loved the food. You can get such a huge variety of the local Malaysian foods, Chinese, Indian and Thai. The foods are so rich and so delicious. My favorite breakfast food was the Thosai which is a rice flat pancake served with coconut and peanut chutney and a side of lentil curry. So delicious. The kids also sampled some of the local foods and enjoyed some of it. I on the other hand could not get enough of it and savored every single bite. Here is a view of the city.

The Christmas decorations there was amazing as you can see below. I mean I truly was not expecting this but wow... We visited family and had such great memories. It was really good quality time spent since we were there for only a few days. 

Our next stop was Phuket,Thailand. Once again such a beautiful place to visit but the place we stayed was a little further from the main town which was not what we expected. The beach was really for snorkeling so it was a little different then what we hoped for. Phuket has a famous beach called Patong beach which is crowded and was further then where we stayed but the town was really filled with young crowds and I would recommend that if you are going with young kids, go out a little earlier in the evenings as the crowd in the evening is more for partying which was not what we expected. The highlight for me was when we visited the Big Buddha and the visit was so serene. It felt so  nice to stop at the temple and just have a few minutes of silence.

I loved Thailand and the food. We also took a day trip to Phi Phi island and other small islands which was beautiful. We had an unexpected situation with the speedboat engine breaking down in the middle of the Adaman Sea. It was so scary and the sea was so choppy and rough. People on our boat including my kids and hubby started to throw up and we stuck for over 2 hours. We had to change boats and boy am I am glad that we all made it safely. I prayed during that time and was scared but also knew that we were going to be okay. 

Despite all that we made the most of our day trip and tried to enjoy it. I was so impressed with the kids as they enjoyed the rest of the day. I do think that it will be awhile before we get on another boat. 

Out last stop was in Singapore. Another beautiful place. I loved the food there too. We did the night safari which I do recommend, visited Sentosa island, Botanical gardens and went to the observation deck in Mandalay sands. It was so beautiful. The weather was hot but I did not mind it. We enjoyed every single minute and I have to say that Singapore would be  the one place I should stay for months. I can actually see myself living there short term. 

Overall it was such a good time, good food and lots of good quality lovely time with family. I loved every minute with my parents and my sisters and niece and nephew. We created so many new memories and I know that this is one trip my kids will always remember and treasure. 

The goal of the trip to spend quality time with family and just relax, rejuvenate and eat. We planned for this trip many months in advance and while I knew that it was just be beautiful and the time would go by quick, I wanted to make sure that every minute of it counted. I don't get to see my parents often so I certainly count my blessings when I do see them and cherish every single second. We certainly accomplished the quality time together and so much more than I ever imagined. I am so grateful for this opportunity and experience. I would certainly recommend all three places and I certainly hope that we get more opportunities to travel and create more memories. As I ended my vacation, it was certainly sad to leave my family but I know we will meet soon. 

We ended 2017 with a bang and overall it has been such a great year. I am so thankful for everything.

Wish you love.

Peace,

Monita

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

So today we had out first snow fall just in time for the holiday season and the end of 2017. The snow is just so pretty and it really looks like winter wonderland outside. The kids were so excited this morning and went out and built their little frosty the snowman. While we only got a couple of inches, they still had such a sparkle in their eyes to go out and just run around and play. I always learn so much from them by just watching and hearing every thing they say. They did not even care that it was so cold outside, they just wanted to go out and enjoy the first winter snow.

Well it certainly is "the most wonderful time of the year and the hap-happiest season of all". I love that Christmas song by Andy Williams. It brings such joy to my heart this time of the year with all the other Christmas songs that I hear on my local ratio station. 

Every year the kids look forward to Christmas time. It is our favorite time of the year. We usually go the mall to take pictures with Santa and walk through a local park decorated like winter wonderland. Just so beautiful that  I wish it was Christmas all year along.

This year is really extra special for us since we are leaving next week visit my parents who live overseas. My parents are so excited to see their grandkids and I am so excited to see my mom and dad. It will such a good time to just be with them and spend every moment just enjoying their presence. I am so grateful that they are still in good health and that we have this chance to spend time with them. 

Th kids have not seen their grandparents in over 3 years so we are really just counting down the days and hours before we get on that plane. I have already told my mom of all the foods that I want to eat as soon as I get there. She is really an excellent cook and I am also looking forward to eating all the local foods too that I grew up with.

I hope that this holiday season we all get the time to spend with our loved ones, to do the the things that we want to do and also to take time to enjoy things that you want to do. In taking time to entertain and be around family, do take the time for yourself as well. It is important to give but also take for you. 

This is such a great time of the year not only to create many more lasting memories but to create time for you. That is what I am going to do when we are away. I really need the time to rejuvenate, relax and get a little pampered by my parents. We decided to take this trip since I had this strong feeling in my heart that I really wanted to see them and go home. 

If you have such a strong feeling towards wanting to do something for yourself this season, I hope you can find a way to do it. It was certainly not easy or cheap to make this trip happen for us but we decided to do it anyway coz you never know what new year will bring. I need this trip for myself, my kids and my parents. 

It is the happiest season after all so go after and do the things that make you sing in your heart. If you can't for some reason, oh say.... you have relatives visiting you this year but you rather be in Hawaii, picture yourself being in Hawaii and make that happen now. You can after all pretend to be in Hawaii while celebrating with them. Have a holiday Luau and then plan ahead for next year.

It may or may not be snowing where you are or but whatever it is that you are planning for and currently doing make it the most wonderful time of the year. This time will never return and we only have now to make it wonderful. Lets do it and wish you love!.

Peace,

Monita