Maji's 80th Birthday: Part VIII

My last night in Malaysia was spent the absolute best way I could have ever asked for. 

We celebrated my Grandmother's 80th Birthday!

Being able to attend this party and spend time with her was the whole reason for my trip. 

I spent the whole night soaking it all in...

My grandmother with 6 of her children, 4 who flew from around the world to be there

The Grandchildren (1/3 of them, at least)

Beautiful Sisters

Amy, just one of the kids =)

My beautiful Auntie Kuldeep with my Uncles

My brother and I with Maji

My Grandmother working it on the dance floor.

 In my family, there is no such thing as having a party without dancing...no matter where you are. 

At the end of the night, we went around the room saying what my Grandmother meant to us. 

The common theme was how selfless and loving she is to each and everyone of us. 

Photo taken by my cousin, Manveer

I am honored to be the granddaughter of such an amazing woman. 

Happy 80th Birthday Maji. 

I named my daughter after you, hoping that she would be just as strong as you... we can all see now that she is!

I love you.

Johor Bahru, Malaysia: Part VII

Ok, I'm not quite done with my Malaysia series. I have just one more to go after this. 

I didn't want to leave out our time in Johor Bahru because we spent a lot of time hanging out here since my two Uncles and their families live in this city. 

This means there was lots of time playing with the cousins!

L to R: Auntie Nina, Mishu, Jadon, Amrit, and Simran

I'm a mother of two, and I'm still involved in dog piles

#dontjudge #pooramy

This was just one of the many nights we were out. 

I absolutely love this picture of my Grandmother with 4 of her 7 children. 

L to R: Uncle Shika, Auntie Nina, Uncle Meherwan, Maji, and Auntie Jindre

It was my Uncle's Birthday, and my Auntie Kiran threw a fabulous dinner party for him. 

Cheers! 

(It doesn't surprise me that Jadon came out of this trip learning how to "cheers") 

Another night, another dinner

L to R: Prabhdev, Auntie Kiran, Steve, Uncle Shindu, Sunil Uncle Shika, Alex, Sarah, Parisha

And if we weren't eating, we were out dancing.

We enjoyed a performance at some Thai club one night. It was okay. 

                             

I think that we had more fun wearing these Santa hats, and having our own little party in the corner.

I was really happy that we packed in a banana leaf dinner on one of our last nights of the trip

                              

I don't know if it's just me, but I think the food tastes better when you eat with your hands...and when you eat your food off of a leaf

L to R: Auntie Jindre with Jadon, Amy, Uncle Meherwan, Harjan, and my Mom

       Note: there is a right way and a wrong way to eat with your hands. 

After a few chuckles watching Amy, we taught her how to do it properly.

We'll make a Punjabi out of her in no time ;-)

...a very fair-haired, fair-skinned Punjabi...
Chak de phatte! =)

Batam's Up, Indonesia: Part VI

I will first give credit to my brother for coining this term "Batam's up," which we ended up saying throughout our one night out, in the town of Batam, Indonesia. 

We went to I-don't-know-where, and we were pretty much the only people in the club. 

The band had no one else to interact with, which is why my Auntie Jindre is being singled out by the singer here...

And why my Uncle was being asked to sing here. 

Thank goodness he didn't come near me. Ha.

Even though we were the only people in the club, we were having the time of our lives

No one to bump into on the dance floor? All right! This totally beats Vegas =)

L to R: Auntie Pami, Amy, Auntie Nina, Me, Auntie Jindre

I would have never done this if there was a room full of people

And Amy wouldn't have done this...actually she probably would have

Nevertheless, we had such a fun time with the band...and I'm sure they were thankful to have us there 

I think this proves that my family can have fun together no matter where we are

...even in Batam.

Indonesia: Part V

 My family took a ferry boat from Singapore to the island of Batam, Indonesia. 

L to R: Auntie Jindre, Cousin Parveen and her baby Saskia, Uncle Meherwan, Auntie Gurjit, Cousin Simran, Alex, Sarah, Me, Jadon, Auntie Nina, my Mom, Auntia Pami, Cousin Harjan, Kuma Amy, and Cousin Mishu

We were at a pretty remote location with no phone, no internet, no nothing...except for this

This was the view from our beachfront chalet. 

Not too shabby, eh?

But first thing's first upon arrival. Lunch!

Table for a billion?

We were the largest party that the hotel had. Not surprised. 

Amy and I joke that we had "roti canai" bellies. 

#whateverwewereonvacation

We mostly spent the days hanging out by the pool. There wasn't anything else to do around there anyway, which was totally okay with me. 

And I enjoyed time playing with my little guy

Who enjoyed drinking from coconuts by the poolside

(note the pinky that sticks out? My brother and I do the exact same thing when we drink! We attribute it to our proper English side =)

                                   

I think Jadon could get used to this lifestyle.

Relaxing some more after relaxing all day =)

L to R: Me, Jadon, Cousin Sunil, Auntie Nina, my Mom, Uncle Shindu, Cousin Prabhdev, Uncle Shika, Auntie Kiran, Cousins Parisha and Harjan

I think Jadon was a little worn out from all the fun in the sun

I was thankful for this time to get away from everything, and relax. 

It almost seemed unattainable to me after the past few years. I made sure to enjoy every moment of it...down to the luxury of being able to go jogging on the beach alone since my family was there to help take care of Jadon. 

I soooo needed this trip. 

One funny tidbit I will leave you with....

The running joke throughout my time in Southeast Asia was that my hair was crazy. I got comments that it looked "sad" or like "Medusa" or like Monica from Friends, when she went on vacation to a tropical climate. 

Yep. That was me...and I didn't care to deal with it one bit. 

I liked that it gave some comical relief to everyone, including to myself =)

#thatswhenyouknowyoudontcarehowyoulook

Singapore: Part IV

Even though I was born in Singapore, I never really did the touristy stuff. So, one day, Amy and I got to slip away while my family took care of Jadon. We took a taxi from Johor Bahru (Malaysia) to Singapore to get our camera and map skills on. 

Upon arrival, we came across the best-named street in the whole country =)

Thankfully, my Uncle pointed us in the right direction, and told us what transportation to take.

We ended up using the Singapore Bus System, and we even got a discount because we flew Singapore Airlines (bring proof with you if you want the discount). Woot woot.  

First stop along the way was the famous Raffles Hotel. 

Famous for what, you ask?

The Singapore Sling! (and a few other things that are probably way more important than this drink)

Amy and I enjoyed a sling at the Long Bar, but not for very long.

1 plate of satay and 1 Singapore Sling cost me 52 Singaporean Dollars

...aaand I closed my tab immediately.

Nonetheless, the hotel was absolutely beautiful, and we walked around admiring the architecture and landscape. 

Next stop along the way was the Singapore Flyer. It's pretty much a giant, enclosed ferris wheel that takes you around to view the country (Singapore is not very big).

Amy flying 

 Our 3rd stop was at the Boat Quay, which is along the Singapore River. 

There are tons of shops and places to eat along the way. 

I met a friend from Australia (to be totally honest, this crab gave me the heebie jeebies, but I was equally fascinated with it at the same time).

My other beautiful friend.

 She just fascinates me. 

 
Amy and I sat to have a drink along the river. There was a moment where I was really thinking "this is the life!" Not to be totally corny, but I was so amazed that I was actually there, and I was  enjoying every minute of my vacation

It was topped off with the fun company of my sister (from another mister).

Just noticing how much faster Amy drinks her beer than me. Dang, girl, slow dooown ;-)
just kidding

The last stop for the day was Orchard Road. Woohoo. Shopping! 

(which is what all of Singapore was doing that day too)

Although I didn't make out with any good buys (it was way too crowded), it was fun to walk along the street, and see all the hustle and bustle. 

We finally headed back around 10 pm. 

This was one of my favorite days of the trip.

 It can be so much fun adventuring with your bestie...especially when you're in awesome places like Singapore. 

One day I will be able to take my husband and kids to see where I was born, but for now, they can just look at these pics, and know what to look forward to...