Malaysian Meanders: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Penang's Temple of the Reclining Buddha

Golden chedi and a brilliant hued Naga statue

I have many fond memories of the Temple of the Reclining Buddha in Penang. This Thai temple's curvy, golden chedi tower looms over Kelawai Road, one of the main thoroughfares up to where I lived on the island. When we first moved to Malaysia, I would tell myself, "I don't think we're in ~~Kansas~~ Texas, anymore," each time I drove past it.

7 Mondays

For the past seven weeks, we've been a very busy, globetrotting family. Life and the whole world have been going by so fast that I feel like I've been spinning around and around with arms outstretched and my face turned upwards toward the sun. I've dizzily collapsed on the grass and lie in the field but everything still seems to be moving. I'm at that point where you relax and lay still, trying to recover your equilibrium while the memory of everything you've just experienced still shines brightly in your mind.

Dreams Come True in Venice

Gondola ride along Venice's Grand Canal

I first visited Venice when I was almost 20 years old. Back then, I left with two regrets. I never rode in a gondola, and we took a daytrip from the mainland instead of actually staying in Venice. There was also a garbage collector strike going on which lent a rather rubbishy aroma drifting around the famous canals. Upon my return to this watery city — older and with more money to spend — I was determined to not walk away a second time thinking of what might have been.

I'm a Cover Model!

Something really unexpected happened the last few weeks that we were in Penang. I got an email from Expatriate Lifestyle, a glossy print magazine in Malaysia, asking the kids and I to be on the cover of their July 2014 issue. A sane person in the midst of ending the school year, preparing to visit the Philippines and Italy, AND moving the household across the ocean that month might have replied, "Sorry, I'm busy." I am not a sane person as my hubby will attest. He constantly tells me, "You're crazy," to which I retort, "Well, you married me. So, who's the crazy one?"

Love is in the Air: Wedding Photos from All Over

One of the best things about traveling around the world is finding love. I already have my own true love, so I'm not on the lookout for someone for myself. What I enjoy stumbling upon is other couples having their wedding portraits done. Whenever I see a bride and groom, I'm sure to whip out the camera and snap a photo.