Mini-moon!

I always hoped Alo and I would do a honeymoon after the wedding and that was the one wedding thing I tasked him with but unfortunately he just never got around to it - busy man! He's been working so hard and knew June would be a hard month due to a big conference here in Bangkok and lots of his colleagues coming to the region. So we settled for a mini-moon! We hope to do a honeymoon (the longer trip!) in September if all goes as planned. Alo made a good point - since we had a tiny wedding(it was a secret at the time ops!) and a big wedding we needed a mini-moon and a honeymoon to balance it out. Smart man! That's why I married him :)

So naturally, we booked the hotel(Nakamanda) and flight all around midnight on Thursday and we left at 6:30am on Friday - he likes to keep me on my toes! Geeez. Mind you I was the one booking in bed and he was snoozing! Nothing like a little last minute planning.

This trip was simple and easy. Quick domestic flight to Krabi, Thailand and a short taxi ride from the airport to our hotel and voila! a little slice of paradise and relaxation together for 4 days. Krabi is located in the South West of Thailand and is just beautiful with all of the limestone rocks jutting out from the Andaman Sea. And don't forget the clear blue water and white sand beaches - Aaaamazing. Not all the beaches are like that in the Krabi Provence, however they are always just a short boat ride away.

Since the point of the mini-moon was to just enjoy our time together and totally veg-out we weren't oh too adventurous for once - which was fine by me! Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses - or in our case sip your pina coladas and swim all day! We did however of course rent a scooter on Day 1, Alo's favorite thing to do, and take a longtail boat to Hong Island for a day.

Hong Island was great - not too packed with tourists and fanny packs and just stunning! No real snorkeling spots but there were a ton of one fish and they sure loved our snacks I packed.

We did have one small hiccup in the trip. Missed a flight?.... Nope! But did Alo hit his head, crack it open, and have to get 5 stitches? Yes he did. Poor guy!! Oh I felt so bad for him. I also physically felt so bad when it happened because we learned apparently I almost faint/get super queezy at the sight of blood. It was a total freak accident. It started to pour outside so we took cover under a spot near the pool. Alo being the gentleman he is rushed to put down the plastic covers so the rain wouldn't drench our stuff and in the process hit his poor head! At first I thought he was just being a "weenie" and cussing up a storm over a little bump on the head until he asked me to see if it was bleeding and I just about fainted. I pulled myself together to the best of my ability and called SOS (international insurance provider) and asked them what to do. They directed me to the local clinic and off we went. By clinic I mean one little room with 4 hospital beds that were all filled up with other patients. Alo got right in, they took a  quick look at his head, said he needed stitches and out of the room I went. It was the quickest Emergicare experience complete with a bow like bandage he got to sport around the rest of the day! I rewarded him for being such a trooper with a quick trip to McD's on the way to the airport so that helped :)

All in all a great mini-moon as husband and wife! whoop whoop!

In love with the purple water lilies!

Alo's vacation shirt. He wears it EVERY trip we take. Repeatedly says "vacation man!!" while doing a little dance ha

Banana Split - with 2 scoops of fresh coconut ice cream - YUM!

We found some toys to swing on at the beach - my little monkey!

Pretty pretty sunsets every evening!

Women are like a fine wine - they just get better with age!

Looking back at age 27 - it's going to be a hard year to beat! Moved to Tunisia, traveled to Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and France with Alo, traveled for a couple weeks around Europe with one of my best friends Maggie, visited Charlotte in Madrid, visited Clementine in Lyon, had multiple overseas visitors (finally!) including Alo's mom, Clementine and Charlotte, got a pet baby turtle (and lost it- sad!),Alo and I got engaged!!, and had the most wonderful wedding and got married!!, became an Auntie again by gaining a new little niece Flora Jane, got to spend lots of time in the states with my family and friends, went to a Redskins game (HAIL!), moved to Thailand!...Gosh so many big things. 28 sure has some competition!

Alo did a good job at celebrating my birthday this year! Although I'm still trying to teach him the importance of a birthday cake and candles!; )

We started our day with breakfast at Crepes & Co. near our house - it was so good! After, he headed off to work and I headed to get a manicure and pedicure! Then I met him after work for a rooftop drink at Red Sky but unfortunately the rain kept us inside. Next we tried out our first Mexican restaurant in Bangkok - La Monita Taqueria. We were SO impressed. We've never found good Mexican overseas and this place is spot on! We enjoyed nachos, tacos, and margaritas and it was just wonderful :) We then ended the night around midnight with an hour long foot rub on the walk home - totally normal right??

Gifts that are wrapped! I was impressed!

Finally - a coffee maker! Or a baby red penguin - whatever you want to call it.

Alo really thought this cup was hilarious. Oh his humor...

At Red Sky - but the weather rained us out! Here is a write up on it - maybe when the rainy season stops we'll try again!

Smile pretty!! post margaritas...

And the cake (that I might have had to drag Alo to the store with me to buy..days later) ha!

Alo's birthday is coming up soon - let the celebrating continue!

Elephant's World & Erawan National Park

Our first little adventure as "husband and wife" was to go see the elephants in Kanchanaburi, Thailand and hike around Erawan National Park!

We just left early on a Saturday morning and returned late Sunday. It's only about a 2.5 hour drive if you leave early and beat the traffic. We stayed at a sweet place with small villas right on the River Kwai called Oriental Kwai Resort.  Saturday we spent our day at the Erawan National Park. It it supposed to be about an hour hike to the top of the waterfalls and you pass through the "7 levels" throughout the hike.  Since we were there on the weekend it was just packed, so I'd recommend a weekday next time! Other than the extreme amount of tourists and locals - it was fun day. The falls are a murky turquoise and just beautiful. I will say if you plan on swimming - get ready for all the fishies to eat you up! They don't actually "hurt" you, but they sure do nibble away...it's scary!

On Sunday morning we got up early and headed off to spend the day with my favorite 5,000 pound friends - the elephants! The elephant sanctuary is called Elephant's world, and they call themselves a "retirement" home for elephants, young and old. Basically they rescue elephants who were previously being used for money with substantial injuries, such as logging elephants, ones about to be sold into the circus, or ones being used on the streets of Thailand for rides or "tourist" purposes.  The whole trip involved learning about taking care of the elephants and their daily routine. Our day started with feeding them gourd like local vegetables, then preparing the rice balls for the elderly elephants. You have to make the rice balls for the elderly elephants because they all are over 75 and have lost their teeth. On average, most elephants in the wild only live to be around 65 because they lose their teeth and can no longer survive because they die of starvation. So in short - these guys and gals are really livin' the life at the retirement home - makes me so happy! Next we visited the home of the Mahouts - you could call them elephant guru's - they work with the elephants one-on-one and can teach/discipline them.  Most of them are actually Burmese and speak an entirely different language from their specific Burmese tribe. Afterwards, we had an amazing thai lunch prepared by a sweet little lady who lives on the plantation. Then we headed out to cut banana trees but unfortunately there were none available to be cut so we headed back to bathe the elephants. This was absolutely the most FUN part of our day. Basically we all got into the water and scrubbed their muddy backs and played in the water for awhile. They also have a small deck with a rope swing which was a blast. I rode one of the elephants out of the water at this point which doesn't hurt them as long as the weight is under 100kg. They explained how elephant rides with the wooden/metal seats which usually weigh about 50kg and 2 people on their backs really hurts them and wears away at their structure after years of being "worked" for tourists.

There were about 10 young volunteers working there from all over the world such as France, Columbia, Holland, and Mexico. Most were on a traveling spree around Asia for one reason or another and were volunteering for at least a month.  So for the entire day it was just Alo and I and the elephants and volunteers - NO other tourists or guests - could we have picked a better day??

Here are some pictures and videos from our day with the elephants, volunteers, and mahouts!

National Geographic picture??  Love this one!

Making the rice for the older elephants!

 Gosh he's so handsome :)

 No he's not a robber - this is how locals dress to block the sun!

We never ended up getting to cut the banana trees because on this specific day none were available but we did all stumble upon a path to a cave on the side of a small mountain close by so visited it instead (that shiny look is pure sweat!ha)

Feeding the older elephants their rice balls we made!

We just loved the wee baby! So darn cute!

All the volunteers and us at the end of our day!

Weeeeeee!

And some videos :)

 Click HERE and HERE

Back in action - Bangkok style!

Yes I know... I created another blog because once I moved out of Asia I realized I needed a blog that would work anywhere in the world. However, now that I'm back on this lovely continent, I feel it's only appropriate to get back to where I started - this blog! (and I have a secret love for my original one)

Moving away from Asia was a great way to really appreciate it. Being here can be super overwhelming at times - the hustle bustle - pollution - traffic - millions of people ALL the time - language - and more pollution - and more traffic, however once I left I realized just how amazing it really is. The people in every Asian country I've visited are just amazing. So nice, so happy, and they sure know their customer service...which if you know me - you know I highly value - Thank you Nordstrom. Not to mention there are just so many things that are so foreign to us "Americans". Like the fruits, vegetation, animals, religion, etc that it's just so intriguing. Even though I spent a year in Indonesia before and also have visited Thailand a couple times before moving here - there is SO much to learn and take in everyday I just love it. So here's to the next chapter in Thailand!

And on to the biggest topic to really write about today - Alo and I got married! 

Yes in 5 short months we got engaged and married all while living overseas for part of it (because I went home early to plan) and moving to a different country. Pat on the back? I think so! Was it easy or fun? The verdict is still out ; ) Don't ask my maid of honor - ha! But regardless - it was a completely perfect day and I seriously couldn't wipe the huge smile off my face from 7am until 3am that night - it.was.wonderful. I keep having flash backs and it's like I can remember every emotion and see it all just perfectly in my head. I can't even thank my family and friends enough for making our special day possible. And we were so honored and happy to have so many friends and family from all over travel to be apart of our day - love you all! And  If you haven't already seen some of the pictures, my photographer posted some on her blog - enjoy!:  Carrie and Alo's Rustic Vineyard Wedding

xoxo
Carrie

Blog for Tunisia

Since I've moved I created a new blog - feel free to read it :)
http://fromctoshiningsea.blogspot.com/

First FULL Marathon

As I'm looking at the things I've blogged about in the past in order to figure out what important things I don't want to forget about our time in Asia, I realized how could I forget to write about the Singapore Marathon?!

So let me give you some history of why I signed up for the marathon in the first place. Did I think I'm built to run marathons? Nope! In fact I've always thought they can't be good for your body.  It all started because my co-worker mentioned she had signed up for the half marathon in Singapore December 4th, 2011 and was scared to death (Indonesians aren't big into running or working out in general).  I went home that night telling Alo that we should sign up as well - it sounded like a great race.  Alo and his co-worker Steve decided to do the full marathon and immediately signed themselves up at work the next day.  Well because my local check card was so odd, it would never let me make any online purchases so I needed Alo or Steve to sign me up. I kept asking Alo to sign me up for the HALF, of course reminding him day after day as he let it go in one ear and out the other. Well one day I hear at work that the HALF was closed for registration because it had hit its max limit of participants. I was slightly furious knowing most likely Alo had still not signed me up and I had probably missed the boat on this one.  Sure enough that was the case. In order to try to redeem himself he thought it would be a good idea to just sign me up for the FULL and I could just run with the HALF marathons on the big day and it would be fine.

Well that wasn't possible. If you have ever been to Sinapore you know it's super "rule" oriented and there was no way to just hop in with the half marathon group.  So I decided to attempt the FULL thinking it couldn't be that bad if I had a run/walk strategy. Well Alo was against my strategy of running/walking/running/walking even if you aren't tired. His idea was to run as far as possible and then walk if I had to. That might have been the worst idea! ha. Alo and I ran the entire first half of the marathon and then I literally hit a brick wall.  I remember thinking how will I ever make it to the finish? Did I mention it was scalding hot and the sunburn was already in full force? Sunscreen isn't even an option because you'd sweat it right off in a jiffy. 

Well after a long painful morning/afternoon, we made it! I have literally never done something as hard in my life. I have a whole new respect for FULL Marathon runners. Granted I still feel now more than ever that it just can't be good on anyones body to run/walk that much in one day (26.2 miles) but I do commend them for their amazing ability to accomplish it and at such fast speeds. 

I would really recommend running the HALF or the 10k options for the same race. It was the Standard Charter Marathon in Singapore and I think about 20,000 people participate in all the different race options.  I'm happy that we finished - that was my main goal! Checked that one off the bucket list and certainly don't plan on repeating it again :)

The highlight of this "Marathon Trip" was that everything was decorated for Christmas in Singapore and just gorgeous! They really go all out, especially on Orchard Road where all the shopping is located. All in all it was a wonderful weekend in Singapore and I'll certainly never forget it!

Fruiti Tutti

If you know me - you know I LOVE fruits.  Especially anything with bananas! Living in a tropical country is a perfect place for a fruit lover because they have so many fruits all year long :) And thank goodness Alo decided to "splurge" months ago and buy us a blender since non of our electronics from the US would work here so I can make constant smoothies!

I will have to say that before we moved here, my old landlord in DC constantly talked about the Mangos in Indonesia and how amazing they were supposed to be. I'll have to say they don't knock me over, but maybe I'm just not a Mango lover at heart. But they do have a couple different kinds here and they are offered on most dessert menus at restaurants.

The best part of all is that the grocery store KemChicks (which reminds me alot of a whole foods but in Indonesia) will cut any fruit and package it for you with no additional cost.  So I can pick up a large watermelon and take it to the counter and tell them i'd like to buy half of it chopped up.  How amazing is that? I guess if you are like me and HATE to cut up any fruits then you'd be just as excited. I've decided Whole Foods or Trader Joe's really needs to adopt this idea.  Granted I will say there are always at least 3 people behind the counter cutting up a storm so it does take some man power to have this kind of operation.  Anyways - brilliant idea in my opinion. Quick, healthy, cheap fruits cut up everyday for lunch - yes please!

Back to bananas - they have so many different types of Indonesian bananas but I can't keep up with the names.  They are huge, regular ones like in the states, medium ones, and tiny ones.  A popular street food dessert is Pisang Goreng. (pisang means banana, goreng means fried).  Indonesians love to fry up anything so it's no surprise that take a healthy yummy banana and fry it up in oil. So much of the street food is either fried noodles or a meat or vegetable fried up! (are you arteries hurting yet??).

Dragon fruit, Salak (Snake fruit), Starfruit and cocunuts are probably my favorite fruits from Indonesia. You can see what they all look like below:

Dragon fruit (there is also a kind that is the same but bright pink inside)

Salak (They call is Snake Fruit because of the scaley skin)

Belimbing or Carambola (Starfruit)

Here are some others I've tried :

Mangosteen- "Queen of all fruits" (good but the purple/red outter skin dyes your fingers and gets everywhere)

Rambutan (the name in Indonesian literally means "hairy" - hints the look and feel of the fruit)

Durian is my LEAST favorite fruit. Durian is the "King of Fruit" in Indonesia and is known for it's stinging scent, spiny skin and soft fruit. It has the fowlest smell ever (in my opinion!). I don't really know how to describe it other than gross. Indonesians just love it though, but you always know when someones eating it or it's around because it stinks up the whole area.

I almost forgot to mention the fruit juices. In almost any restuarant they offer all kinds of fresh fruit juices. My favorite is the watermelon juice or melon juice.  It's served cold and tastes like a million bucks. So simple - it's just watermelon put in the blender and served cold - trust me you want to try it!  They have so many drink choices from juices to smoothies to iced coffees, etc. This is always available in most restaurants since it's a Muslim country and most people don't drink alcohol so they offer lots of other options.

There are SO many more fruits but these are just a few. I'm not a fan of Indonesian food (haven't you wondered why i've never wrote about it? ha) but I do love their fruits!