Celebrating Christmas and New Year's Day in Penang

This year we celebrated Christmas and brought in the New Year in a special way; we took a family trip to Penang, Malaysia.  In the end, this was a blessed family time of relaxing, re-connecting and enjoying a culture quite different than any other our family has experienced thus far.  

Beautiful Beaches

The first thing we all enjoyed was the beaches and clean air.  Here are the kids standing on a small beach near the National Park.  It was their first time to see the ocean, which Asa declared was "Awesome!".

The second beach we visited was Monkey Beach, which is inside the National Park.  As you can see each of the kids - including little Silas - greatly enjoyed playing on the beach.

Here are the older two kids enjoying a beach-side swing.

The younger two kids enjoyed this "baby pool" type section of the beach.

No beach trip is complete without a sand castle and digging for shells.

Hiking

At the end of the beach was a trail to a light house we heard had a beautiful view of the surrounding area.  Our guide told us it would take 30 minutes to hike (each way), but I guess he didn't calculate hiking with a 14 month Silas and 4 year old Salome.  In the end, the hard work was worth it as the view from the top of the light house was amazing!

Here are Emily and the older three kids while our guide patiently waits at the top of the hill.

This is the light house at the top of the hill, which was built in the late 1800's.

Here is the breath taking vista from atop the light house.

Food

Besides the view another thing that kept us going on the hike was the incredible lunch we ate before hand.  The new types of food we were able to try in Penang was certainly a highlight, especially for Emily and I.

This is our spread from Monkey Beach, which included grilled chicken, fish, shrimp and satay.

Another local treat is shaved ice with flavors and sweet veggies on top.  While the kids didn't go for the sweet canned corn, they loved the shaved ice.

Cool drinks were also a big hit.  Miriam typically stuck with her old standard - Sprite - while Asa discovered milk tea and Salome enjoyed pineapple or mango juice.

We also enjoyed the easy access to Indian food - even if Asa didn't like the Tandoori chicken 

I ordered in the "Little India" section of the historic Georgetown neighborhood.

Local Culture

Penang has a fascinating history that mixes influences from the majority Malay communities as well as ethnic Chinese, Indians and European settlers.  We explored Fort Cornwallis near Georgetown to get a sense of the European influences and also had an opportunity to interact with the local Malay Muslim community near where we stayed.

The kids enjoyed climbing on the old cannons at Fort Cornwallis.

It was also fun to see how much they enjoyed being together - especially the older three kids.

Everyday we were awaken by a call to prayer from this mosque in the neighborhood where we were staying.  The few Malay Muslims we had the opportunity to interact with were very hospitable to outsiders and at the same time earnest about their faith.  We have much to learn about this faith held by many people across the world and here in Asia.

This is a picture of our entire family squeezing with all of our luggage into a single taxi for the last leg of our trip in Penang.  I love seeing the joy on the kids faces - something common throughout the trip.  Not only from the amazing sites and food, but most importantly time together as a family and the opportunity to interact with and learn from many different kinds of people.

Happy Birthday Miriam!

Last year we started a tradition that I would take Miriam out on her birthday for a special "Daddy Date".  This year was extra special because we were on a family vacation in Penang, Malaysia. 

 

I took her to Hard Rock Café Penang where they not only gave her a special birthday cake and had the entire restaurant sing her happy birthday, but they also gave us a commemorative Hard Rock photo.

 

This is Miriam blowing out the candle.  After the server left she quickly noted that she didn't like cake and would much prefer "Monkey Bread" :) !  Oh, Ms. Miriam, always so direct about what she wants!

Our dinner conversation was a delight that covered a wide range of topics.  What a delight to have such a daughter who is incredibly beautiful - inside and out!

After dinner we returned to the apartment we are staying at and a friend of ours took these professional grade photos that are an absolute treasure!

 

 

 

For this beautiful outfit we have both Nei Nei (Emily's Mom) and Christy Grandma (my mom) to thank.  Nei Nei helped Miriam pick out this special dress this summer and Christy Grandma helped pick out the high heels and the necklace.

 

 

Here is a close up of the high heels - this was her first time wearing high heels!

Penang Anniversary Trip

It is hard to believe it, but on August 15, 2013, I will have been married to Mrs. Emily Lynn Meyer for 15 years!  My how time flies when you are having fun.

In late June, I had a business trip to Penang, Malaysia that Em and I thought would be fun to extend for an early anniversary celebration.  Thanks to the amazing help of our good friends - Ryan and Aimee Bowman - were able to leave the older three kids in Shanghai and have a weekend celebration in lovely Penang.

As this first picture captures, it was a anniversary celebration that had Silas in the middle of the action!

At the recommendation of a co-worker we stayed in the Lone Pine Hotel in the Batu Ferringhi beach area.  One of my personal favorite spots at the hotel were the large hammocks that were slung underneath the massive pine trees on the property.

It was also nice to walk along the beach, which is along the Malacca Straight.

Silas was a big fan of the swimming pool at the hotel as well as his new toy boat!

The food in available in the area was incredible.  A new drink that made us smile was the Chrysanthemum Tea that went by the brand name "Chill"; I called it my "Chill Pill"!

Silas had his first ice cream in Penang and it was a huge hit!

There was also amazing sea food - including Emily's favorite TomYum Soup with shrimp.  As you can see from our table we not only enjoyed the food, but the milk tea and fresh fruit drinks as well!

On Sunday morning we hiked in the nearby Penang National Park, which is known for its dense forest and beautiful beaches.

As some points along the way it was hard to know where the trail was!  In this picture it is on top of the rocks and over the large tree root on the far right hand side.

Here are Emily and Silas braving the forest trail!

Finally after a sweaty 2 hour hike we reach our destination: Monkey Beach!

On Sunday evening our friends Rob and Kay Eberz - who live in the area - were so kind to watch Silas so that we could have a special anniversary dinner. Here we are with our seafood themed dishes.  Both were incredible!

Even more incredible than the seafood, the beaches or anything else I saw in Penang was the fact that I have been married to my best friend for nearly 15 years.  What an amazing gift from God to live out the wonderful blessing of marriage with such an amazing women!  I am convinced the best is yet to come!