The months fly by over here. We've had a busy and colder than usual winter, but we are lucky we didn't experience the cold winter many of you experienced. So this blog is going to be a long one. I haven’t updated in so long…. So this blog entry will cover January-April. The remaining months will be coming soon. For those that don’t care to read into details, the pictures tell a quick summary. I did pictures a bit differently this time – mainly because when looking at just January-April, I had over 2000 pictures that we took. So I took out a few from the events below and just our day-to-day life and made an album. If you hit on the shutterfly link below – it will take you to the album. For those that want to read an update…. Feel free to read before scanning the pictures. Looking forward to seeing many of you this summer!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALBUM --> The Alessi Family Photos
** Best to view in the slideshow setting so you can read the captions.
January/February:
Cambodia/Thailand
Over Chinese New Year (end of January / beginning of February), Tom, Val, and I went on a 2-country tour of Cambodia and Thailand. Reminder: Val is our friend from Walmart that works in Shenzhen and often travels with us - bringing her guide books, she's like our personal tour guide. In Cambodia, we first visited Phnom Penh and learned a lot about the genocide that took place in the country during 1975-1979. We visited one of the 'Killing Fields' and also one of the high schools that was transformed to a prison during that period and is now a museum that shares the history of the Khmer Rouge era. I had probably learned about this in school, but everything seemed more real and heartbreaking when you see it first-hand. The pictures I did take are too depressing to post, so I decided to post an uplifting one (see below).
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| Kathleen and survivor/author - Chum Mey |
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| Phenom Penh - the capitol of Cambodia. Sitting at a cafe down the street from our hotel |
Our next stop was Siem Reap. Awesome. If you have a bucket-list of places you’d like to see in your lifetime, add this one. Probably one of my favorite destinations in all my years of traveling. Pictures don't do this place justice. Siem Reap is home of ancient Angkor - a collection of temples dating back as early as the 9th century. Most famous for 'Angkor Wat'. It is so unique, old, and breath-taking. We spent a day going from 'temple' to 'temple' in a tuk tuk (with our driver who was great) - despite a small tuk tuk accident. Our clothes got dusty from the dirt-path roads - but we loved experiencing the culture first-hand. We stopped along the way when we wanted and saw some really cool things, besides the beautiful temples. The temples were huge and had such detailed carvings, hidden corridors, and maze like structures. I haven't seen Angelina Jolie in the Tomb Raider movie - but I believe a lot of the film was shot in Angkor, Cambodia. Besides temple viewing, we experienced the night life which was quite better than I had expected... It was vibrant and the local pubs were so cheap. Foot massages for $1.00 (no, I'm not kidding). And it had a great night market where after a few cocktails, the shopping and the bargaining got a little out of hand. Even Val (who isn't a big souvenir shopper) had bags of ‘stuff’ by the end of an evening. Seriously, what is not to love about this place. I wouldn't want to be in Siem Reap for more than a few days, but it is definitely a place I would return to and see something different each time. I hope I have the opportunity to return some day.
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| Touring the temples in Angkor |
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| Ancient Angkor |
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| Our tuk-tuk driver knew that we were 'touristy' nerds. He laughed at us a lot. |
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| climbing and exploring Angkor Wat |
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| Angkor Wat 2014 |
Next stop was Chang Mai, Thailand. I was really looking forward to this place, but to be honest was more disappointed... maybe after Siem Reap- it couldn't get any better than that. We went to the Tiger Kingdom which was great. I got my picture with little tigers and big tigers. Many people have asked if the tigers were treated nice... and in my opinion, I was overall impressed with the Tiger Kingdom - it's facilities and care-takers. I was told they were not drugged during the day, but I guess you never really know. After going, I read more online about the Tiger Kingdom and some 'accidents' or 'attacks' that have happened there. I guess, I probably should have thought a bit more before going, but no regrets. In addition to the Tiger Kingdom we went to a village of local ethnic groups. There were about 5 different tribes and each make hand-made things to sell to the tourists. They are known for their beautiful scarves (which we all bought). Personally, I was fascinated by the tribes and remember reading about them when I was younger in a National Geographic or similar type magazine.... it was neat to see how true they hold to their culture.
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| Roar! |
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| Karen Long Neck Hilltribe - Chaing Mai, Thailand |
Our final day of site-seeing we went on a cave tour and saw some temples. We were hoping to go to a particular elephant camp where you spend a day with elephants that have been injured or mistreated (lots of elephants are unfortunately not treated nicely in Thailand) and you care for the elephants for the day. However, the place was already booked and we were so disappointed. We did experience food and more markets in Chaing Mai. And Val and I had a great Thai massage for cheap.
Home Update Jan.-Feb.:
On the home front, we also had some visitors. Kathy, Norlie’s daughter, visited from Singapore with some friends. Tom happened to be traveling for work so he missed out on a great Filipino meal one night that they all stayed in.
Tom’s friends from high school, Nathan, Ross, Andrew, and Matt, came to visit for a week as well. They spent some time in Hong Kong and then traveled on to Taipei in Taiwan. They had a great trip and we managed to somehow provide sleeping arrangements for everyone in the house.
In February, we also decided it was time to move the boys together into one bedroom. Val has been insisting (jokingly) for some time that she should have her own bedroom when she visits Hong Kong…. And we agreed – having a guest room would be beneficial. The boys are doing great in their bedroom together, but it also means it’s a 6:00 AM morning almost every morning. The guest room has turned into another toy room, but it does have a bed (a double - sleeps 2). Come visit!
March:
Phuket, Thailand:
Another busy month! Tom, Patrick, and I went to Phuket, Thailand for a long weekend in the sunshine. We took Patrick to see a baby elephant and he was a bit terrified, but liked it. Although we didn’t stay there, we visited the hotel where Tom and I stayed on our honeymoon. We stayed at a more child-friendly resort with a slide (which Patrick liked). It was a great weekend away from the skyscrapers.
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| Phuket, Thailand - 2014 |
Eli and Zheng tied the knot at the end of the month. We had a great weekend with Eli’s family (Eli is one of his cousins on his mother’s side). Gail and Andy (Eli’s parents) hosted a cocktail party at our home the night before their nuptials. The wedding itself was beautiful and we had a great dim sum lunch afterwards. Their reception was later in the evening on a junk boat in Hong Kong harbor. Definitely a wedding to remember!
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| The Kislevitz Family in Hong Kong for Eli & Zheng |
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| Heart - Eli & Zheng - Heart |
Home Update March:
On the home front, we were quite busy with other activities. Patrick had Sports Field Day at school. His team was the Red Team. He loved it – favorite part of the day was when he got his participation medal. He was so proud. His classroom also celebrated mother’s day and I got to read a story to the class (which I always love!). Evan received his first haircut and continues to beat on Patrick. He started My Gym classes this winter and he absolutely loves it. Patrick and Evan make us laugh daily – we are so blessed!
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| Evan so excited to go to My Gym! |
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| March 2014 - a day at Disney |
April:
America, Vietnam, and Visitors:
In the beginning of April, Tom flew to Bentonville for work. He visited with friends while he was there, but was swarmed with a busy work week as well. Never enough time – he then flew to New York on the way back to Hong Kong to visit his mom and Gail and Andy in New Jersey – two weekends in a row with the Kislevitz group.
My older sister, Christina, came to visit us. We spent a few days in Hong Kong, but then took a ‘sister’ trip to Danang and Hoi An, Vietnam. We had a great trip. The hotel where we stayed was amazing. It wasn’t very crowded so we felt very spoiled. Hoi An is particularly famous for great Vietnamese food and tailors. So we did both! We had some clothes copied and also some clothes made. Ordered and ready to bring home in 24 hours. Pretty amazing. In Danang, where we stayed, we sat by the beach and read books, caught up, and ate. It was the perfect get-a-way. I’d like to do something like this annually. Hopefully, when I’m back in the USA my sisters and I can continue to get to meet up at fun destinations (all we need is beach and sunshine).
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| Christina visits and we take a trip to Vietnam :) |
Tom’s friend, Emily, from business school came for a visit – she was here for work and we were able to catch up with her and meet out for dinner, drinks, and horse races. She may be here again for another business trip – we love all the visitors we get to see. People need to start getting business trips to Arkansas when we move back home! Paul Buser, Tom's friend from ND, also came through in April. It's his second trip to visit us (well, actually he was here for work, but we like to think he just comes to see us!)
Krabi, Thailand:
For Easter, Tom, Patrick, and I went to Krabi, Thailand. Norlie and Evan stayed back in Hong Kong (neither of them are beach-goers yet). Evan is getting better with sand, I’m thinking by age 2 he’ll be all over it! We still need to work on Norlie – lol. We had a great vacay in Krabi. We rented a long-tail boat for the day and went island/beach hopping. Patrick liked the boat ride. He also experienced his first massage ($6.00 on the beach!).
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| Krabi, Thailand |
Home Update April:
Patrick had his Musical Studio theater production of The Enormous Turnip. He was a natural on stage (sort-of). He was the only boy in the class so it was very fun to watch him interact. The performance was exactly how you would imagine a performance to be with about 12 children aged 3 and 4. Adorable. So there is January - April.
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| Evan at My Gym |
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| Silent Reading Time - well, I try.... it doesn't really work. |
Kathleen, Tom, Patrick, and Evan :)
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