Weekend in Phuket - Day 2

Does anyone read this anymore or did we lose everyone when we got busy?  Will post anyway as I think we have a few readers out there still...

Our second day in Phuket found us riding the hotel shuttle bus into Phuket-town, hoping to walk a bit and check out the beautiful Wats (Thai Bhuddist temples).  We find these temples so exotic, yet so peaceful.  However, things got interesting as the shuttle pulled to a stop in front of a "tourist office" in town (we thought we were being dropped at a hotel) and we were greeted by enthusiastic taxi drivers/ tour guides who offered to squire us about town for a mere 300 bhat for the day (~ $10 US).  We thought... well, okay, air conditioned ride beats roasting heat and getting lost.... so we agreed.  Then our trusty guide asked "What you like to see - you want shopping, yes?"  Well, uh....no, not really.  But somehow we failed to convince him and our first stop was a large tailor shop to order a custom-made suit for Chris.  Now we felt just awful as the saleswoman tried so hard to show us the fabulous material and patterns we could choose from.  They could make a suit by the end of the day and send to the hotel before we left the next day for about 10,000 bhat (~$330 US).  Only problem was, we didn't come to Phuket to buy a suit!  Sensing our hesitation, our eager saleswoman asked, "How much you want to spend?"  Roxanne, being unable to lie, answered "Well, actually we didn't plan to order a suit at all, so we don't want to spend anything."  So much for tact.... so out the door we went, feeling rather small, but hey, we didn't want a suit!!  Next stop was the "handicraft" market - this place was full of gemstones and jewelry, textiles and wood carvings - with everything "50% off"  Again, Rox's cheap accountant ways and distrust of any sort of large jewelry outlet in a foreign country (too many fakes!) disappointed the hard-working salesfolk, but we did pick up some pillow covers, a doll in traditional Thai dress for Brenna and a couple of carved elephants.  So, it wasn't a complete loss!  Next, our driver proposed to take us to a shopping street full of inexpensive clothing stalls, but we pled hunger and asked him to take us to lunch instead.  He dutifully took us out to the waterfront, where we proceeded to this open-air seafood spot where you pick your dish from the fresh catch.  Brenna was completely turned off by choosing her food and refused to eat anything but a plate of french fries.  Chris and Rox went with the flow and chose a half dozen tiger prawns, a large lobster and pineapple fried rice (Rox's favorite),washed down by tepid Coca Cola in a glass bottles.  Delicious, fresh and a great view to boot!

After lunch, our trusty guide aimed us back at the shopping district even though we asked about the wats/ temples/anything cultural or historic....please.....His reply was, "You want Chinese temple?"  Well, umm, not really - we have gorgeous Chinese temples in Penang.  We want to see some Wats!!  To which he replied, " They not open."  Huh?  He was so determined to drop us at Robinsons.  We just didn't get the logic- how would he earn a kickback from a department store?  We changed tactics and let him drop us at the corner, paid him and told him we'd walk back to the shuttle stop by 4 PM.  The lunch was worth the aggravation.  So, with two hours left, off we went in search of the nearest temples.  The Chinese temple was actually very interesting - similar to Penang Chinese temples, but different at the same time.  Then we decided to give one of the Wats a try and walked a route that would take us into an older neighborhood with "Sino-Portuguese" style shophouses (according to our guide book).  The shophouses were lovely and very similar to Penang's architecturally and we stopped in a great antique shop along the way.  What a temptation that was, but again, "skeptical Sally" was afraid of getting duped and the only thing we really loved was out of our price range (although considering what you would pay for it in the US, it wasn't bad - maybe next time).  So, on to the Wat we went.  Unsurprisingly, it was not only open, but welcomed visitors (obviously the monks offer no commission!).  The complex included a primary (elementary) school and active monastery.  It was quite lovely and certainly worth the walk.

After our long day in the city heat, we stopped for a cold juice and then hopped the shuttle to the hotel where Rox had scheduled a "balancing" facial and foot massage at the spa.  It was a terrific way to cool down and revive tired feet.  Dinner at the Thai restaurant completed a lovely, but tiring day.  We had a great time in Phuket and plan to try the water activities like snorkeling and kayaking on our next visit!

Catching Up...Weekend in Phuket Day 1

We are far behind on our blogging, so we hope to catch up over the next few days.  Nearly two weeks ago, we were finally able to take advantage of two "public holidays" and get away for a 4 day weekend to Phuket, Thailand.  We originally had no intention to visit Phuket since, coming from Florida, we have been spoiled by some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  We had also heard about the wild party atmosphere in Patong and didn't think that was what we were looking for.  So, we started out planning to visit Krabi instead (last summer's trip fell victim to Chris' accident).   Unfortunately, flights were difficult to find on the dates we wanted and were a little more than we wanted to pay.  So, we consulted the trusty travel guide and some friends and decided on Phuket instead.  The direct flight from Penang to Phuket was the clincher- no transfer in KL to deal with - and the price was great!  So off we went in our Aerospatiale twin prop for the short flight...

We stayed at Hat Mai Khao on the northern coast of the island, away from the more popular Patong and Kata Beach areas.  The resort was right on the beach and we had it nearly all to ourselves.

The resort was beautiful and we enjoyed swimming and relaxing by the pool; the restaurants and the spa were fantastic (Rox finally indulged and had a facial and foot massage; Chris had a full body massage to loosen up some of his sore muscles from his renewed training).  But, the highlight of the trip by far was the elephant trekking and the canoeing in the Thai jungle.  We had some initial reservations about the elephant trekking - after all, we've always read that it's not fair to keep these beautiful animals in captivity, even when well cared for.  But, we decided that it was an experience we did not want to miss.  We did agree that if there were any signs of mistreatment, we would get out of there fast!  Fortunately, the company we selected was top notch - picked us up on time, stopped for coffee and restroom break on the way (1 1/2 hour drive to the camp) and provided a very enthusiastic young Thai lady as our guide.  "Oo Oo" was great - good English and bursting with enthusiasm.  She made the long ride fun and educational.  We were very pleased with the conditions we found at the camp.  The facilities were clean, the trainers (or "mahoots") live with their elephants in small bamboo structures within a large enclosure, which was much cleaner than we expected.  So here we are about to head off on our trek:

We headed into the jungle along a wide path, but we were very impressed by the way the mahoot allowed the elephants to wander a bit.  They grazed and pulled up vines and small plants to snack on as they went and as long as they stayed near the general path, there was no pulling or shouting.  It was actually quite a partnership to witness and we thoroughly enjoyed our 45 minute trek.  What a beautiful jungle unspoiled by man!

After returning to the camp, we were treated to a delicious Thai buffet and  then walked a short distance down to the river where we met our river guide.  It felt great to be out on the water, looking up at the gorgeous limestone cliffs and hearing the hoots and shouts of a troop of gibbons (monkeys) in the distance.  It was a little unreal and though we were sweaty and tired, it ended too quickly...

We made a short stop back at the camp for cold drinks, frozen chocolate bars and another restroom break before heading back to the hotel.  The whole vanload of visitors was asleep within moments.  Nothing like a nice car nap after a day full of outdoor adventures in the Thai heat.  We thoroughly enjoyed our day and were sad to see it end.  If you ever get the chance to do this, we highly recommend it!

Will share day 2 tomorrow...

When is enough, enough.

Ok so i have something on my mind today that i really need to get off and although I love Roxanne to death she does not always (ok, she never does) have an appreciation for my rants, now this does not have anything to do with being in Penang, other than for me Penang offers me time to think and contemplate. So I look on the front page of "The Sun" this AM to find a tribute to Mrs. Whitney Houston, her tragic death at the age of 48...really..."The shocking news" of her death...really. I am sorry, I feel horrible for her family and everything they have had to endure, I feel bad for her fans, as they are probably the only ones who will know even one song off of her 2009 album "I look to you", except maybe the title track. Mostly I feel bad for Whitney, I mean not to quote one of her own songs, but "didn't she almost have it all" . The last 10 to 15 years of her life have been a train wreck, lets be honest. the failed reality show, a really, really bad marriage, and a really, really, really bad drug problem. I know in our country Politically correct is the norm, but this is not someone we should be crying a great deal of tears for, this death although tragic, is NOT Shocking. I mean come on, she was a crack addict who was on the express train to dying the moment she put the crack pipe in her mouth and could not put it down. I hope that any medical results following her death indicate that she was sober, i really do...anyone want to bet on that though. I'm not! Even if she did leave this world sober the insurmountable damage that she did to her body, most specifically her heart with years of cocaine dependence, was surely going to cause her untimely death. Another celebrity/pop star/rock star dies in a hotel room all alone, not a friend or family around them, and what do we do, "oh she was so beautiful", oh the death of a wonderful talent", No, i am sorry, its the death of a good and talented person who was hijacked by a chemical that eventually took her life, or at least was in some way the cause of it. We have lost many talented people, many REALLY talented people, Mrs. Houston one of them, to the same horrible, CURABLE, condition. Her death will be met with an outpouring of emotion and tributes, however when all that is over we will go back to our lives and think nothing of the cause and the consequence of the loss. Is there ever public outcry for more drug treatment centers, and better techniques and technology, is there ever a call for more research and education...the answer...NO, there is not. Do we open more drug treatment facilities to deal with this growing problem in our country, that even our own government in their infinite wisdom called "an epidemic"...no, no we don't, we take beds from treatment facilities, we take money for programs that attempt to help people dealing with this problem and we force them to the medical profession that uses drugs (more often than not) to deal with a drug problem...that would be like sending a fat person to a bakery to lose weight. Or we send them to Jail/Prison, and as you know there is tremendous education and rehabilitation that goes on there, i think he last recidivism statistic for the state of Florida was like 79% repeat offenders...yep that system is working. So what will we do, this great nation of ours to deal with this "epidemic" that affects every aspect of our society, from celebrities to the hell's kitchen junky...nothing...I'm sorry Mrs. Houston, your death was not a shock to me, it was however tragic, the big book of AA says "There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault". I failed you Mrs. Houston, because as a professional in the field of addictions I should be working smarter, not harder. Your country failed you, because we have a leadership in this country who cares more about what happens in China and Iran than they do in their own backyard...i mean do you really think that President Obama has been to the "bad" part of DC since he was on the campaign trail?? Mit Romney?? oh yeas I'm sure that this trust fund baby knows the plight of the working man, who sees the destruction of his livelihood, his family and his community all at the same time...I saw a commercial on "You Tube" that was broadcast during this years Superbowl, it was about Detroit, and it featured Mr. Clint Eastwood, he talked about how it is "halftime in America" and that we need to decide what we are going to do in the second half. i liked the message and could see the appeal, however the problem is that in that "American Stadium" most of those people are out of work and have no idea when they might find it. most don't have health insurance and no job that will offer it to them, some are homeless, some are hungry and a good deal of them are addicted to some chemical, and are finding it tough to quit....I digress...and Mrs. Houston you failed you, I'm sure with your wealth and fame, you were offered the best treatment money can buy, the top notch specialists in the discipline using the most up to date methods and research, but i don't think anyone of them ever told you the truth, and made you look at yourself, stripped of all your fame and notoriety, because you see Mrs. Houston that crack/cocaine, it never cared who you were, it never mattered, it wanted you dead. Without help, addiction always gets what it wants. We were all a party to the failure that led to your untimely death...I will however continue to do my part in being the solution I can only hope and pray that the rest of our country will wake up and do the same...maybe then we will never again have to say, "she/he died tragically...of their addiction."

Gong Xi Fa Cai (Happy New Year)!!

The past week has been full of interesting events as we experience our first Lunar (a/k/a Chinese) New Year in Penang.  With Penang's population being ~60% Chinese descent, this festival is celebrated here like nowhere else in Malaysia!  We will provide more details later (after a few outings we have planned this week), but we at least wanted to share a few photos and quick descriptions to whet your appetite...

Cookies given to us by our friend Chun How Lee, baked by his sister and not only adorable, but very yummy!  Might have to add these to our Christmas cookie exchange next year..

Oranges.... the humble orange is a common gift during this festival as the golden orange flesh resembles a pot of gold!  We bought a box and have been enjoying our golden treasures every day.  In Penang, there is also a custom (Chap Goh Meh) at the end of the Chinese New Year celebration where single ladies seeking partners toss an orange into the sea as an offering.  We may not be here for that event this year...

Lion dances!!  We found this small lion head at the trusty Tesco and just couldn't pass it up.  Lion dances are common throughout the year as when a new business or home is opened, a ceremony to fighten away any evil spirits is held.  The lions are accompanied by drums and crashing cymbals and can be quite loud.  Many businesses wait until the New Year festival to hold their official opening, so we have seen (and heard) many lion dances in the past week.  This particular lion was none other than our own Brenna Boo (if you look closely, you will see pink nightgown peeking out at the bottom).  We are hoping it frightens away the bad electronic spirits that visited while we were home, disabling two aircon units, our clothes washer, one hot water heater and finally... our refrigerator all within a two week period.  All is fixed now and we are keeping our fingers crossed!

Some photos of a real lion dance at the opening of the Gurney Paragon complex next door to our building (the two towers reflected in the lion's mirror above).  We now have another Coffee Bean, TGI Friday's, an Italian restaurant and a noodle shop to add to our restaurant choices.  Will share more a bit later this week...

Happy Chinese New Year (summary of our first two weeks back in Penang)

So the Neilsons have returned to Penang, much like the Swallows to Capistrano...well not really but I was waxing...oh hell you get the drift!! Anyway, it has been two weeks now and I have to tell you, for me this is my first period of real frustration here. i think it comes more from the fact that I can often deal with those things that are outside of my control, but broken DIY problems frustrate me because i know that if i were home a quick trip to Home Depot or Lowe's, and the problem is solved, like changing out a defective switch. The broken washing machine, AC unit and refrigerator, all which occurred upon our return...That was way too much out of my control!! I have to say though, a quick email or text message to the owner and someone is on it. admittedly its like waiting for the cable guy in the US...oh "they will be there in the morning", morning turns out to be 1:30 in the afternoon, and the whole day is shot. Frustration aside, we now have a new AC unit in the mater bedroom, (we have decided that it is nicer sleeping without it though, so we run it a bit during the day to cool it off). the water heater in the guest room has a new switch (i could have done that!!), the washing machine has been replaced, and the refrigerator is fixed, three days without a fridge sucks, we are glad though that we just got back from 3 weeks away and it was not stock full. Good times!!
So we have started to plan for our trips, now that I can walk again (and run, just saying). This is where being married to an accountant comes in really handy, and where I can recommend accountants as spouses (sometimes its...well...difficult...lets just say). Don't get me wrong Roxanne is a wonderful wife and the best really but when everything you do has to be meticulously planned it can be a bit much...anyway back to my point...why accountants as spouses rock reason #23...Because everything is meticulously planned....ok, ok I know i just said that was frustrating, but when you are vacation planning it is awesome, i mean there is an entire spreadsheet set up in Excel that accounts for our flights, hotel rooms, transportation, meal expenses, etc, etc. for every place we want to visit!! I mean it is awesome! Unless I want that really cool angry bird hat from the Beijing tourist trap...then i have to dip into "daddy's hidden stash"...oh come on you all know you have a hidden stash, especially if you are married to an accountant...that's all I'm saying. So we have planned a trip to Phuket Thailand, where i will live out a dream and get to pet and elephant, may be even ride one (depending on eco and care factors). That will be in February. Before that though we will be celebrating Chinese New year with the I-Run folks. That should be alot of fun!  Hopefully we will also be going with friends to some of the events held locally, i am sure we will, and will be blogging extensively on these experiences, so stay tuned!! So rox back to work and Brenna back to school, which means the homework battle has begun again, ugg this is not a fun part of being a parent...every day its a struggle since we got back. i think we finally have a handle on it but it does not make it easier. Adding to the homework difficulty is the fact that Brenna has begun her FOBISSEA training, for the international competition to be held in Beijing. This is an international schools of south east Asia sports competition held every year, and the children compete in 4 sports, football, track/field, T-Ball, and swimming, so Brenna is running and kicking and throwing and swimming after school now and she comes home wiped out, so that makes the homework battle worse! i think that she can handle it though and this is such a good experience for her, hopefully she makes the team and we will be spending June in Beijing! That's about it for our first few weeks back, we seem to have gotten back to our routines, and today was a good day in Penang!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

Neilson Christmas Vacation

So we are wrapping up our first visit back to the US, and I figured that a short synopsis of our trip and some observations of our return, after 8 months in Penang. December 16th found us leaving Penang, on our way to Hong Kong, which by the way was awesome!! We had almost a full day to walk around the city and although the air quality was not good enough to really see the skyline, we had a great time anyway.

December 17th found us off to beautiful Newark NJ...Ok, no matter what class you fly in, 14 hours on a plane is a long time, period! We landed in Newark, had a short layover, and were onto Orlando, it was late on the 17th by the time we got in and we were all VERY tired. Roxanne's step mom Diane picked us up and we were off to her Dad's house. Pop and Diane's home is very relaxing and our cat CiCi was there and very happy. Our first night in the states was not very restful, but we did wake up to the sound of a barn owl and sandhill cranes, nice!! We also had the opportunity to stop at Publix supermarket which was AWESOME!! We all missed Publix. The Next day found us in the car (I drove) back to St. Petersburg so rox could spend a few days working, kinda sucked for her...no...it really sucked for her, but at least she was able to save some vacation days. Being back in the "burg" was so nice, Brenna and i took a walk on my old running route in Coffee pot bayou.

I got to get some "GT Daves" Kohmbucha at "Rollin' Oats" market (we also at lunch there one afternoon...awesome). Brenna got to see her best friend Sadie for two consecutive days, with one of those days being a play date and the other to the movies to see "Arthur Christmas" (good movie by the way). We ate at all three of our favorite restaurants "The Moon Under Water", "Cafe Chibo" and "California Chicio". We also got to get some lunch at "El Cap" the BEST hamburger joint,

with my good friend Mark and Roxanne's good friend Sydney and her daughter Julia, good times!!
We also met some of the "Hockey Ladies" and their hubbies/kids...Jen and Dan, Lucianne and Christina, and Netta and Mike. they thought it was strange to go to P F Chang's, but its good food so it fits!! Brenna also got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, because she did not want to sit with the Westshore mall Santa...she was too old in her opinion.

Leaving the burg was sad, but we knew we would be back at the end of our stay, so we said goodbye to our house and hoped that when we got back in two weeks, Brenna would be able to (maybe) see some of her Grace Lutheran friends.
So it was back to Pop and Diane's for Christmas eve, and part of Christmas day. Christmas Eve was fun and Diane works so hard to make it perfect, and it was. Roxanne's brother was in from Las Vegas, and our friends Marc and Nele, brought their daughter Jilene, she had recently turned one and joined Roxanne's step sisters daughter River, and her Nephews daughter Sophia. It was good to see family and see everyone in such good spirits. We were also able to get a good full family picture, Rox's family anyway.

After that it was onto Roxanne's moms, for the rest of Christmas day, we would stay there till Thursday the 29th. then we would be off to my parents. While we were at Roxanne's mom's we had a chance to go to a Tampa Bay Lightning game, they were playing the Flyers, so we were not expecting a good game, but they played great, ok strike that, they did not play well, but got great goaltending. It was fun to go to a game, it did not make me miss playing though (I want to run!!).

We also got a Greek salad, which despite the great food we can get in Penang, there is not much in the way of good Greek food and both rox and I love a good Greek salad!!

We said goodbye to Central and West Coast Florida, and headed out to South Florida to see my parents and my brother, sister-in-law and their two kids. On our way down we stopped at Bok Tower Gardens, in Lake Wales Florida, and met Roxanne's Step sister and her husband (Rachelle and Ben) and their little girl River. We walked around the gardens and also got some lunch, its a nice way to break up a long trip to my parents house.

We had a great New years with my family, Brian and Noreen we gracious hosts for new Years eve and our final meal with  my family. Brenna had a great time with her cousin Emily, they laughed, giggled, danced and ran around like crazy kids, they also got to go in the pool one of the warmer days, but it has been unseasonable cold on and off. We also took some family pictures with my family at a park in Deerfield Beach, Brian and Noreen have a close friend who is a professional photographer who gave us a break on her fees to get the pictures done for my mom and dad for Christmas. We had a great time doing the photos and it will be a nice memory that we will have in pictures. Today we headed out of South Florida and back to lakeland and Roxanne's mom's house. Tomorrow its back to St. Pete, to take care of dental and doctors appointments. Then back to Roxanne's dad's house, and the Thursday the 5th, back to the airport for our trip home to Penang.

A few last thoughts on this trip home...

First, as much as i love the wet market in Penang, and as used to the cold storage market we have become, there is nothing like the selection and variety of a Publix supermarket, and the ease and convenience of a Target. I think we all have missed that, despite how much we can appreciate a more local approach. Mega grocery stores like Publix and Mega stores like Target, do make things much easier.

Second, Our home in Penang is beautiful, and convenient. I miss our little house in St. Pete though, I would not have said that when we left, in fact i could not wait to get back from our time in Penang and look for a bigger house. I have discovered that i miss the cozy-ness of our house and its familiar nooks and crannies. I also like that if i don't like the color of the wall i can change it, and when the toilet breaks, i know (generally) what to do. Renting is convenient, but I like being a homeowner, and I like my little house!

Third, St petersburg...Penang is beautiful, the culture, the history and the beaches and jungles, its just a tropical paradise, pure and simple!! St. Pete though, pretty damn nice!! I love the coffee pot and snell island areas, i like the area around the pier, we live in a nice neighborhood, and well as much as i love Penang, i think St. Pete just feels like home...Although I have run in some amazing locals (and will run in even more) in Penang, at this point the coffee pot/snell island/St. Pete pier is still the nicest run I have done.

Lastly....If I could put a Target and Publix in Pulau Tikas, Get Heat Miser to let Cold Miser have like 1 month of cooler weather come to penang, get Running warehouse.com and Brooks running.com to ship to Malaysia, and get some NASA rocket scientist to release the Star Trek Transporter retail, so family and friends would not have to mortgage their homes and spend almost a full day flying to come see us, and win the US power ball so I could afford a home.....I would never leave!!

Peace out USA...Penang...see you soon!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

It has been sometime since we have blogged, so with our upcoming trip home for a visit, I figured it would be a good time to sum up the last 8 months. We have learned a lot about our new home, we now shop the wet market regularly for veggies fruit and fresh meat, rather than paying Cold Storage market prices ( and dealing with the low quality). We have experianced some of the local food, not as much as we would like, but Brenna often has a say in what we eat and she is far from a foodie, her experimentation with food goes as far as putting pepperoni on a pizza. We have had a chance to see some of this beautiful country, there is so much more to see though that we look forward to traveling more in the coming years. Our home has become just that, with Roxanne putting many of her personal touches on our place we are beginning to see this as "home". Brenna is doing very well in school, she was just selected to train for the FOBISSEA games, in Beijing next year. We are both very proud of Brenna for working hard at this and not quitting. If she makes it we will be traveling to China next year to watch brenna compete against other kids from international schools across Asia. Brenna also has many friends who are from many different backgrounds and cultures (she still misses her Florida friends though). Roxanne and I have made many good close friends that it will be difficult to say goodbye to when this assignment ends. We have both taken advantage of the quality medical care. My hip and wrist are healing very well, the wrist is fully healed but the hip has until February before I can do any running. Rox has had a procedure done to help her hip to feel bett and she has gotten some range of motion back. I have also been able to do some massage work on her which is helping also. So we have embraced Penang, and Penang has taken us in and embraced us as well. Could the last 8 months have been better, well I could have stayed on my bike and not crashed, but everything happens for a reason right? (no not really, thats just what people who do stupid things say as explanation for their stupidity...just call me stupid). So the Neilsons will fly back to Florida for the holidays, it's exciting to see family and friends again, but (and I can only speak for myself) I will be looking forward to returning to Penang, hungry for some curry mee, and a tea tarik, and a nice run. Today was another great day in Penang.