It's not all fun and games...

It's been an eventful few days. Most of it involving runny poos, runny noses and pretty much all things that make you go ew!
Nope - we haven't exactly got off to a running start.

Aagia caught a tummy bug from her swimming lesson a few days before the flight. Then of course Nirmalpreet dutifully helped herself to the bug and then Papa dearest decided to join the party! Mummy on the other hand has Kenyan blood - nuff said! ;0)

I have somehow dodged the prolific bug - lucky me you say. Oh nonono! Mummy is now on full time nurse duty.

Now it goes to reason that cute little baby girls should be practically incapable of producing bad smells. However, My gorgeously cute little Aagia has somehow managed to defy nature herself and managed to excrete something so foul I'm sure it's got to win some sort of award. And the winner for Stinkiest Poo of The Year goes to...

And on that note I shall sign off! 

Hellos...

I am having a great time
But my sister and I got ill :(
I am feeling better now
But Aagia is still not well 

Goodbyes...

A lovely leaving card made by Nirmalpreet's class mates.
It has a photo of all the children on the front and a signature of all of them on the inside. How cute??!
Thank you so much - we will see you after our adventures.

The adventure begins...

We’re going travelling…AGAIN! This time with 1 significant difference:

                                We’re taking our KIDS!!!!!!

In 2007, The Husband (Gurcharan) and The Wife (Preet) went travelling for 6 months to SE Asia – Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Bali, Malaysia, Singapore and India.

Since then our little unit has literally doubled!

Introducing:

Daughter #1 – Nirmalpreet

As nutty as her mummy and a genius like her Papa.

Daughter #2 – Aagia

Just one big ball of cuteness!

The adventure shall commence 24^th December 2014 and conclude on 15^th April 2015.

We start in Dubai and move on to India. And then…we have no plans! It’s all free flow from there.

We’re hoping to visit some schools while we’re there and do a bit of charity work too.

Stay tuned as there is bound to be plenty of madness with the two monkeys on board.

Remember to leave comments after every post! Thanks :)

This time last year...

...I was swimming with sharks!!!

We were in Ko Tao, a beautiful island in Southern Thailand.
Not the touristy resorty type of island, oh no - this is the kind of island where backpackers come to chill...and get there PADI diving certification.

We spent 13 nights here - the most amount of time we've spent in any one place, and with good reason...it was amaaazing! sun, sand and sea...what more could you ask for?

This island was the last destination on our SE Asian adventure, to say it finished with a bang would not be off the mark!

This time last year...

...we were in Singapore
We met Angad Singh here
He introduced us to the pleasures of mock meat.
Singapore impressed us with its immaculately clean streets, super efficient transport system, high tech gadgetry and magnificence of Sentosa Island. The night zoo was a highlight - the only one in the world apparently. And if you're into shopping, Orchard Road is paradise! We were here during Christmas so the whole place was teaming with Xmasy festivities and decorations.

A bit too pricey for the average backpacker though - perfect for short stays for families.

And the service in restaurants is appaling.

A year ago...

...I met Gurcharan at Krabi airport!

On 28th October 2007, I landed in Krabi.
Exhausted after my 24 hours of travel, consisting of delayed flights, disgruntled Air India hostesses, nasty aeroplane food and 8 excruciatingly long hours in a Bombay airport lobby I finally joined Gurcharan to begin our 6 month action packed adventure!

2 weeks isn't a long time, but boy was it GREAT to finally be with him again!

1 year on...

Its been one year since Gurcharan embarked on his craaaazy 6 month adventure of a lifetime!

Countries visited in one word (or two)

Thailand – Thailand is just Thailand…adventurous and interesting in more ways than one!

Indonesia, Bali – Disappointing beaches, but beautiful inland. Way too commercial.

Singapore – clean, ‘eat off the floor’ clean! Efficient in every which way – except for customer service in restaurants! Everything is man made – even the beach!

Cambodia – Awe inspiring Angkor. The beaches are still raw – not yet hit by the package tour crowd. Sad history– but resilient people.

Malaysia – Friendly! We met the nicest bunch of Sikhs here! :o)

Laos – hippyville!

India – expect the unexpected!

Hmmnnn maybe I should change the title of this post!

Dinner is served...Cambodia

Dinner is served...Cambodia , originally uploaded by Preet_D.

This was in my salad! Dinner at an organic restaurant in Cambodia - cant get fresher than that!

Flashbacks

A look back at some of my fav pics from our travels...

Rajasthan, India

Bali, Indonesia

Angkor, Cambodia

Flashbacks!

Ok its time for some flashbacks!

Mr n Mrs D's top 10 countdown (or top 5's or top 2's or whatever!) :

Most memorable moments
A list of some of the most distinct travel moments:
§ Lying inside a cute little open hut...swinging gently on a (sturdy?!) hammock (emphasis on 'gently' - not cos we undermine all the stringent healthy and safety regulations in SE Asia!)...overlooking the blue karst limestone mountain expance...shimmering reflections of the golden sunset on the Nam Song river...and 'proposing' to Gurcharan with a wooden ring bought from Kao San Road! ahhhh...cant get more romantic and mushy than that! (Vang Vieng, Laos)

§ Having dinner with travellers from all over the world! One of my fav things from the travels. Its exhilirating to exchange all the travel tales with fellow backpackers.

§ Eating aloo parathay and drinking masala chai from a plastic bag through a straw(yes...plastic bag and straw) in a slow boat while floating in a slow boat on the mighty Mekong River. These were bought from a real Indian restaurant in a remote little village in the middle of nowhere! (Pakbeng, Laos)

§ Sunset walk in the rice paddies. I'll never forget the feeling of tranquility and sheer hapiness I felt here. Here I was surrounded by nature at its very best bathed in the mellow golds of the setting sun with not a soul in sight...and to share this experience with my husband was a blessing in itself... (Ubud, Bali)

Bbbbad to the bone!

, originally uploaded by Preet_D.

He thought it was a Harley...

I especially like the touch with the flip flops and shorts - yeah...very mean!

Mean Machine

Hahahahaha!
Too funny!!!!!!!!

cheeeeesyyyyyy! haha! ;o)

Last supper

We had our last meal in the hotel we were staying in. Nothing beats a good Indian - and this was no exception. We were joined by Omkar and Tejinder who kept us highly entertained! An altogether perfect way of spending our last evening - good company and good food.


Omkar and Tej - we shared our last supper with these two lovely guys!

Why is food in India always sooo delicious?!

5 Star Luxury

This hotel was absolutely gorgeous!

This was the most comfy bed with the most comfy pillows and the most comfy room!

Our flight back home was from Delhi airport which meant we had to spend a night in Delhi. Omkar was scheduled to be staying at this lovely hotel in Delhi and offered to get us a room in the same hotel as a treat since we had spent the last 6 months in guesthouses and cheapy hotels. What a nice thing for him to do for us, eh?!

This hotel was the bomb, I felt like I should walk around with my nose turned up and a certain air of diva-ness about me. At dinner we made light banter with the waiters, as you do. They were so stunned that we were actually talking to them that they really didn't know how to respond - all the did was giggle awkwardly nod their head in the famous Indian 'yes no' fashion and went straight back to the script 'more dal madam?'.

We happened to be booked on the same flight as Tejinder Singh (infact, when we got to the airport we met a whole load of friends who were on our flight - it was quite ironic to have spent 6 months in the company of strangers and then to be making our final journey back home with a whole bunch of friends from back home!). Omkar managed to get Tej in at the hotel as well and shared the room with him. It was nice to spend the last day with these two lovely guys.

The bathroom was separated from the bedroom by a clear glass wall! Gurcharan is standing in the bathroom and im taking the pic from the bedroom.
Tej and Omkar were in the room next door - we were laughing so hard at the thought of how awkward they would be when one of them needs to shower up!
Later that evening we realised there was a switch that brings the blinds down!


All rooms had complimentary chocolates which were delicious!

A family that eats together...

The family dosa!

Gurcharan's uncle took us out for a meal and ordered this huge dosa which covered the whole table. Here we share this dosa with the rest of the family: Puaji, Shani Chachaji and Rattandeep

Rangla Punjab

My uncle in India decided to take us out for a bit of an 'ethnic' dinner.
No…not the local dhaba – this was going to be a tad more upper class than that…apparently.
Most people who have been to Punjab know of Haveli - a pseudo Punjabi village where things take on a slightly curious but interesting turn. Located on the famous GT Road near Jallandhar City, its what you’d call a ‘blast from the past’!