Easter in Bangkok

We wanted to get away for the break - somewhere close that was a short journey away. Bangkok fit the bill perfectly; we could fly from Macau and be there (fairly inexpensively) in under three hours. Our first full day had us visiting Chatuchak market, the largest outdoor market in Asia (so we were told). There are several thousand stalls/shops to choose from and I believe it; it took us nearly two hours just to walk around the perimeter of the market. When we did venture inside we cam upon a labyrinth of never-ending shopping and eating. It was a great place to look for clothing and household items as well as a great place to eat. We lasted as long as we could but with the temperature between 35 and 38 degrees, it was tough going. Nevertheless, we did manage to find some great deals.

Emily's Trip to Thailand

Last week Emily traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand with all the other grade eight students at TIS. It was the annual "Experience Week" where grade 7-12 students travel abroad or take part in educational conferences. It was a fun-filled week as Emily and her classmates took part in many activities: Muy Thai boxing, archery, batik painting, cycling, canoeing, Thai cooking, shopping and a trip to the Elephant Nature Park. More photos from her trip can be found here.

Emily the Track Athlete

Emily tried some new sports this year - Javelin, High Jump and Long Jump. I think she was partly interested because her Dad was coaching! She really developed an interest for the javelin and the high jump but not so much for the long jump. Unfortunately, she was only entered in the long jump at this years DSEJ track meet. Nevertheless, she gave it her all and finished in the middle of the pack. She is very much looking forward to next track season. 

Our New Home

The Varga family blog has been a bit quiet lately... it's been busy for all of us. We've been getting settled into our new home. Why move? Our previous apartment was sold and the new owners told us the lease would not be renewed. So we started looking around for prospective buildings with a plan to move in March or April. Of course we found an amazing place and couldn't let it slip by. So there we were, moving seven days prior to Christmas. It was crazy but it made our holiday in Malaysia that much more special. THe apartment itself is bigger than our previous one and on a quieter street as well. We are on the 27th floor and while we gave up an amazing view and a balcony, we still have great views of the inner harbor and of the mainland.

Emily's Birthday

It's hard to believe that there is a teenager living in our house... but it's true! It was Emily's 13th birthday today and she got to choose where the family would have dinner. She chose Thai food so we headed to a favorite local restaurant called Chang Rai. Upon returning home, we all tucked into homemade carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Danielle gave Emily a plant for her room while Mom and Dad gave Emily an iPod5.

George Town

The last portion of our trip to Penang had us visiting the historic city of George town. The city has an interesting past along with many historic buildings and temples. A good portion of the city has been declared a UNESCO world heritage site. We stayed at Straits Heritage, a boutique hotel that was once a shop house but is now a renovated heritage home. We visited temples, a famous hotel (Eastern & Oriental), the Clan Jetties and even caught a movie (the Hobbit) while we were there.

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!