I guess I've been a little busy with all of the end of school year craziness and the general absurdity of an international move because I have forgotten to blog recently. Last you all heard we had decided as a family to move back to the states. I love to travel (hate to fly but love to travel) so I am packing a few long weekends into my schedule in order to experience as much as I can.
Mid-april was Bangalore's turn to vote in the national elections and, as with most election and government related holidays, the city was dry for 72 hours - no alcohol available for purchase anywhere - and the city offices, schools and corporations all shut down for election day so we had a long weekend! What did we do? We went to a dry country! Seriously, the Maldives is considered a dry country - no alcohol is allowed into the country. However, the resorts have exceptions so we were able to buy a few beverages during our stay.
I have heard a lot about the maldives and thought it couldn't possibly be as great as everyone says. I didn't really entertain the idea of going because I figure I've been to beautiful beaches before so why would I spend the amount of money it costs to go to the maldives to go to yet another beach. In all seriousness the Maldives is way out of our general vacation price range. I kept thinking, "How can it possibly live up the expectation of world's most beautiful beaches, most beautiful diving and snorkeling?" But EVERYONE I know who has been simply raves about it so I figured I had to at least see it while I was so close. I can say with all honesty and without any exaggeration, the Maldives is the most perfect vacation we have ever had.
From there we took a long weekend north. We spent a full day on two flights and a 4+ hour drive along crazy mountain roads to get to our hotel in the Himalayan city of Shimla. It was probably the scariest day of travel I've had in India yet but it was so beautiful I quickly forget about the fear. The hotel was located on hiking trails and we were able to take the mountain roads back down the mountain to the river for some white water rafting and picnicking along the river. The mountain roads to the river were even crazier then the main roads to the hotel. For the most part it was narrow and windy and the drop offs did not have protective barriers of any kind. Buses and trucks would pass without concern for space or safety. Luckily our driver was paying attention and we made it unscathed.
We had a great trip and my mom got the full expat effect later in the week when she watched the kids while Kyle and I attended yet another expat party. (OK, she got the babysitter effect and we got the expat effect, but it's kinda the same, right?) Needless to say, the Mother's Day brunch the day after our expat party was a bit slow and lethargic even if it was delicious.
Mid-april was Bangalore's turn to vote in the national elections and, as with most election and government related holidays, the city was dry for 72 hours - no alcohol available for purchase anywhere - and the city offices, schools and corporations all shut down for election day so we had a long weekend! What did we do? We went to a dry country! Seriously, the Maldives is considered a dry country - no alcohol is allowed into the country. However, the resorts have exceptions so we were able to buy a few beverages during our stay.
I have heard a lot about the maldives and thought it couldn't possibly be as great as everyone says. I didn't really entertain the idea of going because I figure I've been to beautiful beaches before so why would I spend the amount of money it costs to go to the maldives to go to yet another beach. In all seriousness the Maldives is way out of our general vacation price range. I kept thinking, "How can it possibly live up the expectation of world's most beautiful beaches, most beautiful diving and snorkeling?" But EVERYONE I know who has been simply raves about it so I figured I had to at least see it while I was so close. I can say with all honesty and without any exaggeration, the Maldives is the most perfect vacation we have ever had.
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| My perfect, happy place |
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| Even the boys had a great time |
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| Jameson, continued his "reading around the world" tour in the Maldives |
We had such a fun family vacation with snorkeling, kayaking, speed boat rafting and Kyle even went scuba diving. It was such a great vacation we even considered extending another night and keeping the kids out of school. In the end we came home as scheduled and the kids went back to school on time.
Luckily we had my mom's visit to look forward to. She arrived on April 30th (very early in the am!) and was lucky enough to attend an event at Mike's school. For those unfamiliar with Indus, it is a school that educates students from preschool through high school and has many buildings to support the student body. None of the buildings is air conditioned. The larger events are held in the sports complex and my poor mom had to sit, after having traveled 24 hours and been awake since at least 2 am, for several hours watching elementary school kids talk about their leadership projects. It was a really cute presentation but it was also really HOT. The kids and the parents were melting and by 11:30 we left, with Mike :)
She also got to experience City Market which is the noisiest, smelliest, most crowded market I've been to. I thought my mom might get run over or bumped into traffic about a million times while we were there. But it was really fun to watch the people in the stalls selling their fruits and vegetables and everything else they had for sale.
From there we took a long weekend north. We spent a full day on two flights and a 4+ hour drive along crazy mountain roads to get to our hotel in the Himalayan city of Shimla. It was probably the scariest day of travel I've had in India yet but it was so beautiful I quickly forget about the fear. The hotel was located on hiking trails and we were able to take the mountain roads back down the mountain to the river for some white water rafting and picnicking along the river. The mountain roads to the river were even crazier then the main roads to the hotel. For the most part it was narrow and windy and the drop offs did not have protective barriers of any kind. Buses and trucks would pass without concern for space or safety. Luckily our driver was paying attention and we made it unscathed.
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| OSHA not at work here. This is a restaurant patio under construction, but open, without any railings and a significant drop off over the mountain. |
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| When there is a tree in the way just build the street around it. |
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| Our hotel, view from the hiking trails |
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| Mikey and Kyle enjoying the post rafting picnic |
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| One of the bends on the mountain road, sans guardrail |
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| The truck that didn't care about any smaller vehicles |
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| Mikey enjoying the view. |
We had a great trip and my mom got the full expat effect later in the week when she watched the kids while Kyle and I attended yet another expat party. (OK, she got the babysitter effect and we got the expat effect, but it's kinda the same, right?) Needless to say, the Mother's Day brunch the day after our expat party was a bit slow and lethargic even if it was delicious.
I am enjoying all of these international adventures and parties, but I am looking forward to some US based adventures and lack of parties. My liver needs a break!
See you all stateside soon!
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