Next stop: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Basically unpacked and repacked. Grandparents offered to look after the Zoros and since I'm still celebrating my milestone birthday (any excuse to travel is good) we escaped again. This time round we met up with friends (thank you again for all) in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Had never ventured to Sri Lanka, so very excited to explore and discover. Spent our first day traipsing around the city by tuk-tuk, definitely my favorite mode of transportation these days. Wandered around markets, buddhist temples and the coastline. Vesak was going on and everywhere in the streets there were beautiful paper lanterns. Even managed to do a little shopping -if in town definitely don't miss out on the very cool Barefoot. I would also definitely recommend the Park Street Hotel an old colonial home now converted into a boutique hotel, located in the heart of Colombo. From Colombo we headed south but more about that next week. Til then Happy Weekend. 

48hrs in Bangkok

Travel whirlwind in the past couple of weeks, so dismal blogging, but then again who's complaining. 

First off, we spent 48hrs in Bangkok and managed to see all the major sites. Our main mode of transport were tuk-tuks and boats, definitely the most relaxing way especially considering the heat and my children's refusal to walk more than 30 min. Definitely do not miss out on seeing the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha just next to one another. Kids also loved hanging out in Koh San Road and catching all the  backpacker action. In no time, the girls bought tie-dye pants and ate pad thai from street vendors. I had fun searching for my old guesthouse and reminiscing my own backpacking days. Cruising along the Chao Phraya River is also a great way to discover Bangkok and see how people live along the river banks. Just go down to the public jetty next to the Oriental Hotel and negotiate a private tour. Then once we were absolutely exhausted from our sightseeing, we all loved to head back to the amazing Sukhothai Hotel, a treat from the grandparents and one I would highly recommend.

So I've been told....

"Life begins at forty."

Well I sure hope that the author of this quote, W.B. Pitkin knows what he's talking about,

because this week I hit the big 40.

Off to Bangkok to celebrate.

Club Med Convert & Fan

Normally when traveling we love to just book a plane ride, first night hotel and then basically just play it by ear. However, this time round the kids are off for 2 weeks, hubby couldn't take time off and I didn't see myself traipsing to temples and pagodas alone with my Zoros. Instead, we opted for the super easy solution...Club Med, Bintan and I was voted best mom, that easy. This is my kids favorite holiday destination. I think they feel free and grown up roaming around alone, ordering drinks and hanging out with the GOs. We meet up for meals and the rest of the time we each have our own agendas, plenty to choose from. Bintan is a mere 45 minute ferry ride away, Club Med beach is surprisingly beautiful, water is super clear, colorful fishes abound, so really doesn't get much easier than this. My advice go during the week, a lot less crowded, cheaper, and less singing and dancing around the pool. 

http://www.clubmed.com.sg/cm/resort-bintan-island-indonesia_p-362-l-AE-v-RBIC-ac-vh.html

Bye Picnik

A couple more days and my favorite photo editor picnik will be gone forever. I'm hooked to picnik, so needless to say very sad to see it leave. I've never learned photoshop, so picnik was my easy photo editing solution. I could pretend - guess its time for me to learn. In the meantime, I've done one last picnik collage, basically a hodgepodge of pictures from the last couple weeks. Lots of golf, birthdays, visitors and some sightseeing. All good fun. 

If anyone out there knows of a good replacement for picnik please pass it on.

http://www.picnik.com/

Luxe Guides

At heart I'm a true Lonely Planet kind of girl but in the past few months I admit that I have strayed: I've discovered Luxe guides. What I love most of all is their small light weight pocket sized format. Really who needs all that guide book information when you're just visiting a city for a day or a weekend. Luxe's condensed opinionated selection of places to stay, eat, shop & see is great and funny too. Love that they only offer the best of each place, huge time saver when you only have 2 days to visit a city. For those travelers who wish to go completely paperless you can download most of the Luxe city guides on your iphone. Happy traveling. 

http://www.luxecityguides.com/

My Crush on Bill

Truth be told I bought my first Bill Granger cookbook only because of him on the cover looking so yummy. Then, I tried the recipes and that was a whole set of new yuminess. Bill's recipes are simple, unpretentious, delicious and not too time consuming - my kind of cooking. I love all his fusion recipes and abundant use of coriander and lime. Personal favorites are his chicken noodles soup, salt and pepper squid and his fish cakes. Whilst in Sydney we went to his restaurant in Surry Hills and it was by far our most delicious dinner in Australia. We literally tried every dish on the menu. Definitely go out and by yourself one his books and then don't forget to invite me for dinner.

http://www.bills.com.au/