Escape Adventure Park

During our last full day in Batu Ferringhi, we visited Escape Adventure Park. Think of a high-ropes course on steroids and you get an idea of what the park is all about. We started at Gecko tower, where we would harness up and then climb to the top of a small tower. Once at the top we would then self-rappel down. After this, the girls wanted to sky walk (aka jump off a 20m tower). Danielle was the first to go and she was so eager that the staff gave her a second jump for free!
After that it was off to "Monkey Business" which was a high ropes course that had three different levels of difficulty. We all completed level one and after that, Mel and Emily headed to level two while Danielle completed the second level one. The courses involved climbing, balancing and a number of zip lines; it was a physically demanding day!
When it was all over, we were all very tired and sweaty!

Penang Jungle Hike

We traveled to the national park in Penang to do a jungle hike and a canopy walk. While walking to the canopy walk we observed five monitor lizards, a giant squirrel, a silver leaf monkey and a troupe of macaques. The canopy walk itself wasn't long but it certainly provided some great views of the jungle itself. From the canopy walk we hiked for two hours through the jungle to Kerachut Beach where there is a sea turtle hatchery. We had to up and over a small peak to get to the other side and while some parts of the path were flat, other were quite steep requiring us to hold onto ropes as we went up or down. While difficult at times, we were rewarded with amazing sites and sounds that come with the jungle. At the end of our hike we relaxed and cooled our feet in the sea. Thankfully we hired a boat to take us back to the entrance of the park!

Spice Farm

The Spice Farm is another local attraction that we visited during the beach portion of our Christmas holiday. It's a beautiful place that has three separate areas to explore: ornamental, jungle and spice. The spice was especially interesting as we learned how Penang developed as a spice growing area of Asia. We learned the origin of many of the spices we take for granted and everyone found it fun to handle and smell the many spices found within the farm. To top it off, it was an amazingly peaceful place to spend the afternoon.

Penang Hill

We headed away from our beach-front location and headed inland to visit Penang Hill. This peak just outside of George Town is the perfect place to get a great view of the capital city as well as the straight between Penang and the mainland. A funicular railway took us to the top (approx. 800m up a very sharp incline) and from there we wandered around and enjoyed the views. There is also a hotel at the top which would have been great to stay at.

Butterfly Farm

We've been out in nature as much as possible in Penang, exploring the incredible flora & fauna that is found here. While the Butterfly farm is enclosed, it gave us an idea of how diverse the butterfly population is in Malaysia. On top of butterflies we also observed many insects (beetles, millipedes), and amphibians (frogs) that share the island. The girls especially enjoyed the experience as butterflies willingly would sit on the hand or otherwise land on them. Danielle made a friend with one butterfly (named Arnold) the she proudly carried him around for twenty minutes.

Christmas Day

Our Christmas day was divided into two parts: the morning, when we opened presents and checked our stockings for goodies. Much to Danielle's relief, Santa did make his way to Penang! The late morning and afternoon was spent exploring as we hired a boat to take us fishing and then to a secluded beach where we could walk, swim and watch the monkeys. Everyone caught a fish except Jackie and Danielle won the contest as she caught the first fish (a catfish). Other fish we caught included a balloon fish, a helicopter fish (?) and a silver fish (name unknown). We also had a BBQ lunch on the beach consisting of satay, chicken, fish, prawn, hot dogs and hamburgers. Afterwards, the girls played in the sand and did some swimming while Mom and Dad had a nap while laying in the sun. Tonight we head out for dinner and will check out the night market as well.

Christmas in Penang

It's hard to believe, but this is our fourth Christmas overseas. It's a bit weird when the only thing white(ish) on the ground is sand!
We departed Macau on December 23 and flew to Penang, Malaysia from Hong Kong. It has been a well-deserved break as we were busy moving to a new apartment from Dec. 20-22. More on that in another post...
Christmas is always a happy/sad time as we are usually somewhere nice and warm and yet we are away from our family in Canada. Wherever you are, may you have a restful and enjoyable holiday season. All the best from the Varga family.

Tis the Season

The Christmas season is here and even though there isn't any snow on the ground, it's still a busy time of year for all of us.  As a member of the school choir, Danielle is the busiest, traveling around to all of the major hotels and resorts to sing at tree lighting ceremonies or to take part in other festive activities.

Last week the choir traveled to the Wynn Resort in Macau and the students and parents were treated to an amazing buffet dinner after the performance. The setting was the beautiful il Teatro restaurant which gave everyone am amazing view of the light and water show out front.

UFC Macao

The UFC is in Macao and it is shaping up to be a huge event. The Venetian is the host venue - tonight the weigh-in's and an autograph session were held. A group of teachers and students from the school met Chuck Liddell (The Iceman) and Urijah Faber (The California Kid) prior to the weigh-in.  I'm so pumped to attend the event tomorrow night! 

Cycling in the Country

We met people preparing to visit the local temple; it was a once a year celebration we were told.

At the 25 km point; we were hot, sweaty and hungry!

On our last full day in Chiang Mai, we joined a half-day bicycle tour in a rural area approximately 30 minutes outside of the city. On the way we saw one snake, one lizard, a local market, a temple, a kindergarten school and numerous rice fields. The route was 27km long and it was a hot, sunny day but everyone made it to the end without any problems. We all agreed it was a great way to see another side of northern Thailand.  

Doi Suteph Temple

Thursday we visited Doi Suteph Temple, one of the most lavish and popular temples in Chiang Mai. It is located 20 minutes from the city on the top of a small mountain. The temple itself is very beautiful and many people visit each day to pray. Many monks also live at the temple and one can pray with them as well. Not only is the temple spectacular but so are the views from the mountain as one can see the entire city of Chiang Mai sprawled out below. 

Cooking Class

On Wednesday we all took part in a half-day Thai cooking class. After arriving at the cooking school we had a tour of the organic garden. Here we sampled and learned about many common Thai spices such as lemongrass, basil, Thai ginger, chives, eggplant and peppers. Next we walked to a local market to view and pick up some of our other ingredients including chicken, sprouts and glass noodles. Upon returning to the school it was time to cook. We each cooked three different types of dishes: a curry (green, Penang or Massaman), an appetizer (spring rolls or Papaya salad) and Thai fast food (Pad Thai or Chicken with cashew nut).  Our instructor would demonstrate the steps for each dish and then we were on our own. All of the ingredients were fresh and fragrant and we even had to make our own curry paste from scratch! Danielle volunteered to cook the ingredients for everyones spring rolls and she did an excellent job of cooking in front of the group! The best part of our experience was that we got to eat everything that we cooked.  We also received a detailed recipe book so that we can recreate our dishes back home.

Ready to cook!

Danielle prepares filling for spring rolls/

Rolling the spring roll

Elephants!

We spent Monday at the Elephant Nature Park. After we were picked up at our hotel we traveled north of the city for approximately 40 minutes. Upon arrival, we received an introduction to the park from our guide and then we got to feed the elephants. Each elephant eats about 200 kg of food/day and there are thirty-two elephants at the park so you can imagine how much food that is.  Each elephant would get a huge basket of bananas and gourds and it was our job to hand them to the elephant. The elephants wandered freely around the park but they showed up to the feeding station on masse when it was feeding time.  After feeding time was over, we went on a walking tour of the park to meet some of the elephants and to learn more about them and the care they receive. This allowed us to get up close and personal to these beautiful and powerful beasts. Daniele tried to hug as many elephants as possible!
We had a huge buffet for lunch and we could sit near the observation platforms and watch the elephants as we ate.
After lunch it was time to get wet and for the elephants to get clean. Everyone received a bucket and we walked down to the river. The elephants waded in the water and we proceeded to rinse them from top to bottom. After a thorough soaking we used river rocks to give our elephant a good scrub.  After their bath, most of the elephants wandered over to the mud pit to get all dirty once again!

Danielle bonded with this Grandmother elephant

Bath time!

Everyone got wet!

Time for a scrub.

After bath time it was time for another feeding. Emily and Danielle each fed their own elephant another basket of fruit.  Overall, it was an incredible day for us all.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

This past week was fall break at the school so we headed off to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Our first full day had us exploring the city, specifically the Sunday walking market. This market had everything from food to clothes to souvenirs.  Most of the food was fantastic but there were a few items that only the brave would attempt. The cool thing about Chiang Mai is that you can always find a market to do some shopping. There's a Saturday market, a night market and a bazaar to name a few others. 

The fruits and vegetables in Thailand are so fresh and fragrant

We didn't have any of this stuff!

Danielle loved all of the bling.

Autumn Update

It's been a busy fall here in Macau so this is a good time to update everyone on what has been going on.  Emily has been a busy girl! She is currently a member of the Jr. girls volleyball team and the swimming team; these require three practices a week total (not including any competitions). See is also a member of the middle-school leadership group at TIS. This group meets regularly to plan middle school events such as dances and fundraisers. Two weeks ago the leadership group spent the day at the Venetian hotel, meeting and working as a group.
Danielle has also been keeping busy. She is also a member of the swim team and has joined the primary choir again this year. These activities keep her busy for two days of the week. On top of these, she is back taking piano lessons once a week. She is excited as her grade 5 group travels into China for a four day, three night field trip next month.  She is very excited but she tells us that she will miss us! In her spare time, she manages the fish tank and plays with her lego.
Jackie is busy with her new job at the school. While she had filled this role before, it has been three years; many changes had taken place. Her main foci are the school newsletter, social media for the school, organizing events, and major school publications.  She is also heading up the schools' yearbook committee so yes, she has been busy. She keeps active, spending three days of week running or working out in the fitness centre.
Myself, I have been quite busy as well. I'm teaching a new course this semester (CALM 20) so there has been a fair bit of planning and prep with that. I'm also back coaching volleyball (Jr. Boys) and that keeps me busy 2-3 days a week. I'm also working hard to improve my technology skills - I attended a Google conference in September in Singapore and had the opportunity to share my new knowledge with staff at the last PD day. I'm signed up for another technology conference in January in Hong Kong; there I will start the process of becoming a Google certified teacher.  We all depart tomorrow to Chiang Mai (Thailand) for the fall break. We're excited for a change of scenery and a chance for some rest & relaxation.

Danielle's Birthday

It's hard to believe that our baby is 10 years old!! It was a fun-filled day for Danielle, starting with birthday wishes from both sets of Grandparents via skype. Next, her good friend Dimity and her Mom invited Danielle and Jackie for lunch down by the beach. Dinner was at home with the family and Danielle enjoyed a baked macaroni & cheese dinner.

Celebrations were topped-off with a vanilla, creme and fruit-filled cake from Maxim's bakery. Presents included an iPod case, money and lots of Lego!!

New Additions to the Family

We've been thinking about pets a lot lately... Dogs are cute, but we decided that we couldn't give it the time and attention it would need. A cat would be great but Jackie and Emily are allergic. So we settled on some fish, more precisely nine small fish, one crayfish and a turtle. They all have been given names, but I can't keep track of them all. Emily just reminded me that the turtle's name is Sheldon!