Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra , Merry Christmas from Malaysia!

We decided to make this Christmas a jammed-packed, adventure through the rainforest of Borneo.  Borneo is located off the south east tip of the Malaysian peninsula.  The island of Borneo is divided into two countries, both Malaysia and Indonesia.  We toured through Sarawak and Sabah on the Malaysia side of Borneo.  Our itinerary included caving, trekking, long boat sailing, canopy walks, mountain views, motor boat through mangrove landscapes, orang utans, lots of proboscis monkeys, crocodile and monitor lizard sightings.  We woke up early nearly every morning and took a flight to our next adventure.  We filled our time well and made sure to take it easy towards the end with time on the beach, floating on the water viewing the amazing underwater world while snorkeling.  Here is a brief summary.  Be sure to check back again as we add more!  

We walked along the tree top of the rainforest in Borneo.  This canopy walk was near the city of Kota Kinabalu where we also saw this...

The biggest flower in the world; the Rafflesia.  Very rare and exceptional.  

We were lucky to catch one in bloom!

We also saw carnivorous pitcher plants...

We trekked through Mulu National Rainforest to explore Deer, Lang, Wind and Clearwater caves.  We also witnessed the nightly bat exodus...

Trekking through the rainforest makes you smile and sweat.

Garrett found a little friend!

Nicknamed the Jellyfish, stalactite formation in Lang Cave.

Enormous cave opening of Deer Cave

Deer Cave.  Can you spot Abraham Lincoln?

Bat exodus.  Millions of bats leave the cave each night depending on the weather.
This was quite a sight!

Cave formations near the opening of Clearwater Cave.   Single leaf plant only found in Mulu.  

Clearwater Cave

Getting Ready for Christmas

It is difficult to get into the Christmas spirit here in India. 

 But Garrett is pulling us through and Santa is on his way!  

This Morning in India

Here are two quick snapshots on the way to school this morning.  I really must carry my camera at all times and try to give our driver a little notice in order to capture as many snapshots as possible.

I thought these were dead chickens on the way to market but I was wrong.
These are live chickens on the way to market.
Fresh!
They can only travel this way for about 30 minutes, I am told.

Whole new view of working mom.
It was hard to grab the photo but you can see her little one on her left hip.  

Teaching English

Grant and Garrett helped teach English to approximately 30 very eager Indian students at the Madhapur Rainbow School.  They reviewed a handful of letters in the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes, along with introducing the sounds C, K and R.  The children were thrilled to see American student teachers and this enthusiastic group made quite an impression on Grant and Garrett.

Having Friends Over

Grant and Garrett had friends over!

Garrett and Krishna after a cool dip in the pool.

Grant and Nikhil after several cannon balls with big splashes.

Their ride home with Dad.  

Bubbles and Baby Bunnies

We spent the afternoon with Mustafa's family to celebrate Falak and Muskaan's birthday.  Grant and Garrett loved the baby bunny, Muzaimmil loved the bubbles and the girls were dressed like fairy princesses.  

Grant

Yes, Grant is getting big but the bunny really is that tiny.

Garrett took excellent care of the bunny.

Muzzi loved the bubbles.  It doesn't get any sweeter!

Smiles all around with Muskaan.

Beautiful fairy princess complete with small woodland creature.  

One Afternoon In India

Dubai Has It All!

The kids had a week off of school for a Fall break and the Diwali Holiday so we booked a trip to Bangkok.  Then Mother Nature decided to flood Bangkok so we re-booked (at the last minute) a trip to Dubai instead.  Our trip was a great mix of resort living with a side of adventure and a good serving of fun!  We stayed at the Dubai Atlantis and filled our afternoons with aquariums, water parks, sting ray feedings and even kissing a dolphin!  There was an enormous water slide called The Leap of Faith which we all can proudly say we accomplished, some repeat achievers.  We ate like Arabian Kings and really soaked up the escape while experiencing Dubai.

See how happy we are to arrive at Atlantis!

We arranged for a sunset tour to see the Arabian sand dunes.  The tour was a Dune Bashing Adventure!  Take that phrase literally...we got in a jeep with a professional dune basher, we headed out to the desert, made our way toward some beautiful sand dunes, then drove up, down, and sideways through the desert hitting every dune as they came along.  We knew it was going to a ride to remember when our driver started out giving us a moment to take some pictures.  As we took pictures, he was deflating our tires for a proper (and safe) bashing experience.  We jumped in and off we went, up, down and sliding sideways.  We often would make our way up a dune and drive to the top without knowing what is on the other side.  It looked like we were making our way up into the sky.  As you might guess, there was always sand and more dunes on the other side.  The thrill and the views were amazing.  The boys took part in some sand boarding (just like snow boarding) and later another thrill of 4-wheeling.  Garrett drove and Charlie tagged along.  Grant had his own 4-wheeler.  Garrett later danced with a belly dancer and we all had a quick camel ride before the evening was done.  Check out some highlights...

To top our trip off we visited the worlds tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.  We were unable to go to the top but witnessing from the ground was quite a sight.  We spent our last day at the beach collecting shells from the Arabian Sea, and relaxing in the sun.  We agree that Dubai has something for everyone!  

Ajanta and Ellora Caves

We took a long weekend trip to Aurangabad this past weekend to explore the Ajanta and Ellora Caves.  In one word...Amazing.  The Ajanta caves were carved out from the Aurangabad mountains by Buddhists.  The paintings in the caves date back to the 5th and 6th century AD.  There are a series of caves/temples that each have their own special feature and visual greatness.  We were in awe all afternoon.  Enjoy some of pictures as we tried to capture our experiences at Ajanta...

Child Haven

Today I helped out at a home for children and women.  It was an activities day and we supplied the activities and sweets.  Take a look at the fun we all had dancing, coloring. skipping rope, playing football (soccer), even a little yoga.   Next time, Grant, Grant and Charlie will come along.  There are plenty of smiles and fun to go around.

My little hostess, she made sure I met everyone.

Coloring

Building with blocks

Dancing!

Yoga

Sweets!

This little guy followed me everywhere!