Malaysia Truly Asia: Thaipusam

I learned about Thaipusam in the first couple of weeks of living in Malaysia after seeing postcards at a local office supply store of devotees making their pilgrimage to the Batu Caves.  The pictures were enough for me to think, "Ok, I'm pretty sure I never want to witness that festival in person."  However, three years later I changed my mind and decided to see it for myself.

Have I piqued your curiosity?

Thaipusam is a festival celebrated by Hindus of the Tamil decent.  Each year on the full moon day of the Tamil month (either January or February) devotees of Lord Murugan typically dress in yellow or orange and bare offerings such as milk, fruit, flowers, or large, heavy structures on their shoulders, called kavadi, up to the temples. Many will take it a step further and pierce and skewer their bodies, as well as drag chariots that are literally hooked into their skin.  Fair warning, there are photos later in the post.

We new we had to try and avoid the masses (they were projecting around 1.5 million devotees and tourists), so we got on the train close to 7:30am and it was already packed. Thankfully I was in a location that didn't have me pressed up against another person, and was right next to the doors witch offered a nice blast of fresh-ish air at every stop.  Even though we didn't think another person could squeeze themselves on, at each stop someone would force themselves in before the doors closed.

Once we arrived, the festival is a complete assault to the senses.  The sounds, smells, and sights were enough of a bombardment, but add the heat and the mass of people and I knew we wouldn't stay too long.

To begin with there are plenty of shops selling items such as jewelry, bags, clothing, peacock feathers, and flower garlands.

You could get a tatoo or henna, if you were desiring something less permanent.

But almost every single tent played music and every single tent wanted their music to be the one heard. I wish I had taken a video of this stretch of the festival for the audio alone.

There were many food stalls selling all sorts of Indian delicacies; both savory and sweet.

However, it was the procession of devotees we were truly there to see.

Some devotees start their procession at the Sri Mahamariamman temple in Kuala Lumpur.

Carrying their offerings, they walk the distance to the Batu Caves, past the towering gold statue of Lord Murugan, and up the 272 stairs to the temples up at the top.

As spectators, you can climb the stairs and follow the procession to the temples, but we had no interest in following the crowds.  (If you want to see the inside of the caves you can look back at the post of our visit to the Batu Caves here.)

There were areas where people were shaving heads and applying the sacred ash to their freshly shaved skin.

If only carrying milk like the gentleman below, the devotee seemed fairly lucid.

However, when carrying the kavadi or enduring some sort of body piercing, the devotee was in what we are told is a trance-like state.  Many were dancing and spinning around with accompanying drumming and chanting while also having guides to aid in their procession.

The kavadi varied in size and shape, but seemed to always have peacock feathers in its design.

This man gave me a bit of a shock after he walked past.

This next picture I thankfully didn't witness for myself.  Our group split up in the end to head back home and my friend Kelly took this photo of the man dragging the large chariot.  I'm not really sure what he does once he drags it to the steps, but I am certain I would not have been watching.

In the end we couldn't take the train back home because hundreds of people were trying to get on the platform.  After a bit of a walk from all of the festivites and a call for an Uber, we were able to escape the masses.

This was the great group of friends who all decided to be spectators of this festival after three years of living in KL.  I am glad I went once, but I think we all decided that once was enough.

December - KL Style

It's December and it's Christmas time, and although we are in a Muslim country on the opposite side of the globe, we still very much feel the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

This year we are feeling the hustle part a bit more. You see, we were actually thinking we were going to be moving for the last month and starting 2018 in a new and undisclosed location. Decisions were put on hold and travel plans stopped as we waited to see what the future was going to hold.  As it all turns out, there will be no last minute moves with quick good-byes or frantic searches for a new home and school before the end of the holiday. Instead, we frantically got our lease reinstated for our condo, booked very last minute holiday travel, and am rushing around finishing holiday shopping.

Even with all of the added stress, it worked out well for us in the end since it is never easy to move mid-school year, but it has really put me in a different state of mind.  Instead of all of the annoyances, I find myself looking more at the things I am going to miss about KL one day, as well as the things I want to do and places I want to visit before we leave.  I also thought about this blog and all of the stories I haven't told about our time here in SE Asia, so it seems like a good time to bring it back. Our life here seems so normal, as we have now been here for more than three years, but I know that a lot will seem not so normal to our family and friends far away. Looking forward to sharing our stories, both old and new.

December in Kuala Lumpur is quite festive.  KL decorates for holidays well, no matter what the holiday or religion. Christmas is no exception. In fact, many of our malls here may be decorated just like those in the US and sometimes maybe even more so.

Center Court of Suria KLCC

Center Court of Pavilion

There is also Christmas music playing in the malls, grocery stores, and even street side.  Choral groups sing the songs of the season and Santa comes to meet the children, just like back home.

This production may have been a little less like home with its anime-like version of Christmas.

Although we live in a very tropical climate with lots of rain,  December falls into the rainy/monsoon season, so it's hot with the added extra wet. Although it is not the type of weather to get me into the holiday spirit, sometimes looking out the window at an overcast day helps me to thing that it's actually cold outside.

The following photo is a view out our window.  It's raining so hard that you cannot see the iconic towers located in the center of the photo.  Thankfully it does not rain like this all day every day, but sometime during the day a fairly large storm will come through.

Another view. Another storm.

December also marks the birthday celebration of our first born.  This year Anna turned fifteen!

Where are the years going?  Fifteen!

She celebrated by having twenty-two friends over for music, food, swimming, and even a bit of karaoke.

Early in the month I accompanied David on a quick business trip to Manilla, Philippines so I could visit with some good friends and join David at the company Christmas party.  The Manilla office is known for it's Christmas parties and it didn't disappoint.

The party includes full production competitive performances from office departments.  These people have serious talent beyond the office work that they do.

There was also plenty of food and dancing.  Probably the most entertaining Christmas party I have ever been to.

I took very few photos on this trip and this is the only one of David and I....a dance floor selfie from the end of the night.

I will wrap this up with the story of our Christmas tree.  I have boxes of ornaments we have collected throughout the years from our travels as well as meaningful ornaments that have been given to the girls, however not one of them hangs on the tree.  Why? Because we have this guy.

Look at him.  He's giving me the "I'm in charge here" look.  Two days after I decorated the tree with bows, plastic balls, and paper snowflakes, this is what the tree looked like.

I didn't see it happen, but the tree had been tipped completely over onto the ground.  I. WAS. NOT. HAPPY.  Thankfully I was smart enough not to hang our treasured ornaments or they would have been smashed on the marble floor. Dang cat! The tree was put back together as best I could and it hasn't been pulled over again.  It just needs to stand upright for six more days.  I think it's about time for a dog, so then maybe I can train it to guard the tree.  Or maybe next year the tree won't be as exciting to the cat. I can only hope.

We wish everyone a merry Christmas and happy holidays, as well as safe travel to all of our family and friends who are making memories away from home during this season.  See you back in the new year!




(Just a side note.  Not sure what this alert at the bottom of the screen is that has replaced our signature line graphic.  I guess I need to work on updating my backgrounds and design templates in the near future.)

Siem Reap, Cambodia

It's been a while, quite a long while, since I have posted.....about a year.  When you put something off for that long, whether you have a valid excuse or not, the thought of catching up seems quite daunting.  However, we have taken some fantastic trips and there is so much about our life in Malaysia that I want to share, I am just going to dive in head first. I will probably have to bounce back and forth from past to present, and will hope to be caught up by year end.

Since I don't know where to start, I'm going to pick one of our favorite destinations so far in South East Asia...Cambodia.

Cambodia, Siem Reap specifically, was never on my bucket list until we arrived in Kuala Lumpur and started seeing photos of friend's trips.  Then it moved straight to the top of my vacation priority list.

We decided to take the trip over the long Chinese New Year weekend in February. We already knew some friends in KL were going to be in Siem Reap during the same time and were also staying at the same hotel as we were.  What we didn't know until two days before our departure, was that two other families that we knew from Brisbane, who now live in Manila, were going to be there too!

We arrived early afternoon, had lunch, got settled into our hotel, and we all went straight to the spa.  I know this sounds super extravagant, but it was really inexpensive and a great way to start our holiday.

The main mode of transportation in Siem Reap is the Tuk-tuk. Our hotel provided tuk-tuk transportation as part of our room rate, but if we were out it was easier to hire one than to wait.  They are very inexpensive, everywhere, and mainly reliable, but here we were broken down on the side of the street.   Somewhere between many phone calls by the driver and sitting on the side for 10-15 minutes, he suddenly had his bike started again and we were off.

That evening we headed out to meet up with our Brisbane friends for dinner.

We headed to Pub Street and decided to try traditional Cambodian BBQ.

At this type of restaurant patrons sit at tables with bbq burners. Fresh (hopefully), raw proteins are ordered that you then cook yourself. You can order basic foods like pork, chicken and prawns or venture towards the more exotic choices like crocodile, kangaroo, and shark.

I was a little nervous and didn't want to tempt food poisoning on our first night, so I stuck with fried spring rolls, but the men at the table ordered the seven meat platter and the kids were very adventurous too.  Anna ordered snake and frog legs. Here she is eating her snake.

Ashleigh ordered frog legs and pork.  She narrowly escaped some potential for serious illness when she almost popped the raw pork straight in her mouth. She had forgotten about the cooking part of the meal. Oops!  Here she is with a frog leg.

Frog legs are a favorite of theirs, but the snake was a new choice.  I did try it in the end since the girls and other kiddos were brave enough, and have to say it was quite tasty, just very chewy. Probably not the best cuts of meat and we erred on the side of overcooked, but it was a good bit of fun and something totally different.

After dinner we headed to Phare, The Cambodian Circus.  This is an acrobatic act, put on by Cambodian youth, many who are refugees or from very difficult economic backgrounds. Students and graduates are given a chance to show off their skills and earn their own wages.

It was an entertaining show in an intimate setting. Then it was straight to bed since we had an early start the next morning.

We met our temple tour guide, Tom, at 5:15 a.m. to start our day viewing sunrise at Angkor Wat.  We arrived in complete and utter darkness via the light of Tom's phone and waited in the COLD. Yes, we are used to hot temperatures 24 hours a day, every day, and it was so chilly we were shaking.  Our very thin jackets and sweaters didn't help out much and David didn't have anything with sleeves packed. Brrrr.  Out of all of the viewing locations around the temple, we turned and found our KL friends, the Bakers, sitting right next to us! We wouldn't have even been able to plan that if we tried.

Eventually, the sky turned various shades of peach, pink and purple. It was beautiful!

Then it went away and the crowd cleared immediately.  Our guide said we were going to wait for another twenty minutes, because the sun would come up.  We patiently shivered in the cold and waited.

He was right.  Twenty minutes later the sun emerged.

This made the early morning wake up so worth it!

We wandered around Angkor Watt before we headed back to our hotel for a quick bite to eat.

The temple started out as Hindu and eventually changed to Buddhist.  

One of my favorite photos.  

One of the water reservoirs in the temple.

Next we went to Ta Prohm which is also know as "Tomb Raider Temple" as its one of the more recognizable locations where Angolina Jolie filmed scenes from the movie. It's an interesting sight, as the buildings seemed to be swallowed by the surrounding jungle.  Unfortunately, the temple is losing as the trees are, and have been, crumbling the structures. It is now being slowly restored, but there are still piles of rubble all around.

The three photos below are of the "Tomb Raider Tree" where Lara Croft picks the jasmine flower before falling into the earth.

No flowers in sight.

It felt more like we were in an Indiana Jones movie.

Then we got back in the car and drove for quite some time....

...and then followed the trail which, rumor has it, used to be littered with land mines. (umm...YIKES!)

We arrived at Banteay Srei, the smallest of the temple sites.  I chose this as one of our stops because of its intricate carvings.  Its also the only one (if my memory is correct) carved from rose-pink sandstone which gives it its pink color.

The detail is amazing.

Then we drove back towards Angkor Watt to visit our final temple.

Although all the temples were amazing, this one was probably my favorite. This is Bayon and from a distance you don't really see why I love this temple so much, but as you get closer....

or maybe closer yet.....

...you'll see there are faces carved into the stone.

Over 200 serene stone faces looking in all directions.

Ok, so these two faces aren't stone.

Some Buddhist monks visiting the ruins.

The South Gate to Bayon is another popular tourist stop.

One side is lined with 54 devas, or gods, while the other is lined with 54 asuras, or demons.  

Both are holding what is thought to be a serpent and engaged in a tug-of-war.

Meet Tom, our personal tour guide for our day at the temples.  He was our driver, photographer, drink provider, and most importantly our very knowledgeable and extremely personable leader. We would highly recommend him if you decide to vacation in Siem Reap.

It was time to part ways with Tom at our hotel so we could cool off and relax before heading out for the evening.

Folded lotus flowers at the hotel.

We met up with our friends one last time before they were to head back to Manila.  It was amazing that we were able to catch up with them in such a remote location without previous planning.  Looking forward to our next visit with them...KL maybe?

The following morning brought a new adventure.  We decided to take a four-wheel tour. We were told to wear things we didn't mind getting dirty, but when we were given surgical masks to wear along with our helmet we knew we were in for a dusty ride.

Once we were given our instructions (here is the accelerator, here is the brake) we took off to follow our guide, stopping occasionally to take some photos.

It was just us, so we were able to have a bit of fun at top speeds.

We also felt we were seeing a lot of the Cambodian countryside.

People tending to their crops...

and their cattle.

We passed local temples...

and drove right up onto a working construction site.  Don't mind us!

We had a blast...

and were definitely a tad bit dusty.

We headed back to the hotel to clean up.  Anna realized her look was just like that of the statue outside of our hotel room.

Back on to the tuk-tuk, we headed out to visit an artisan complex.

Here we watched the skilled crafters weave and paint on silk,

practice the art of lacquering,

and carve statues out of wood and stone. It was nice to see the items that were for sale in the gallery  being hand made.

For our last night, we headed back to Pub Street to meet up with our KL friends, the Bakers.

We decided to eat at the Red Piano which we soon found out was apparently one of Angelina Jolie's haunts while there.

Felt is was only fitting to drink the Tomb Raider cocktail.

After dinner we spent one last night exploring the markets and picking up some souvenirs.

An interesting side note, the Cambodians prefer payment in US dollars, so at least the currency was familiar.

There were artisans peddling their wares,

as well as street food if one was so inclined.  Beetles, tarantulas, scorpions, or snakes anyone?

Once it was late enough, the bar carts made there way to the street and the crowds started to build.  That was our signal it was time to head home.

The next morning we were off to the airport and back to KL.  Siem Reap was unexpectedly one of our favorite destinations and one we hope to get back to before we leave SE Asia.