by Missie Hills | Jul 27, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
I admit it, I LOVE weddings. The romance, the tears, the cake, and, most of all, the dancing! So, when our friend, Jit, invited us to his Hindu wedding in India, I was ecstatic! I had no idea what to expect really. My knowledge of Hindu weddings was pretty scarce. Ok, so maybe it was non-existent. Something about red wedding dresses and the groom riding an elephant… Right? Well, that all changed, kind of… Our experience enlighten my view of Southern Indian customs. Although, I’m still a little fuzzy on the details. Due to the language barrier, most of the time, Jason and I had absolutely no idea what was going on.
Our wedding experience started in Trivandrum with a quick shopping trip to find wedding cloths for Jason and I. We needed to look like we fit in (well as much as two Americans in a sea of Indians can fit in). Jit had arranged for an artist to come to my hotel and decorate my hands and arms with mehndi. I sat for a couple hours while the artist hand painted intricate details on my arms. I loved the delicate mandala design.
Then, Jason and I put on our first set of Indian attire for the rehearsal dinner. I felt like a princess in my ivory and gold dress, and Jason looked sharp in his matching tunic.
The rehearsal dinner was full of laughter and joy. Family and friends gathered and spread love throughout the party hall. The bride, Pooja, was gorgeous in her beautiful red dress. There was singing and dancing… speeches and cheers… and traditional Kerala cuisine. We were asked to say a few words, which was rather funny… Me speaking in front of hundreds of strangers who couldn’t understand a word I was saying. They smiled and cheered for me nonetheless. Bless my heart.
The children were very curious about Jason and I. They had never seen Americans before, and my pale skin and blond hair was intriguing them. They stared and giggled at us and would shyly run away when we tried to talk to them.
The next day, we dressed for the wedding in traditional Indian flare. I wore a beautiful white and gold sari that reminded me of an American bride’s wedding dress. I was worried about wearing white, but Jit assured me that it didn’t matter. Jason wore the traditional mundu. Jit’s mom wrapped flowers in my hair and blessed us with some ash on our foreheads. I thought we fit in pretty well, even if everyone was staring at us all the time.
The wedding hall was decorated with flowers and bright colors everywhere. We found a seat and waited for events to begin. People started pouring in.There were over 1000 guests! It was hard for us to tell what exactly was going on. We weren’t sure what marked the start of the ceremony. However, at last, the bride’s party came out in a procession, led by trumpeters, to meet the groom’s party arrival. We frantically followed the commotion outside and watched the crowd greet and bless the groom and his family.
Then, back inside, the bride made her appearance, looking absolutely stunning in a beautiful red sari and draped in gold.
Then we watched the ceremony, having no idea what was going on. Some walking in circles, tossing of flower petals, lighting of candles… And finally, lots and lots of photos. Because there was no kiss to mark the point that the two were officially married, Jason and I had a hard time knowing when the ceremony had ended. And the fact that the guests never really settled down and were constantly up walking around and socializing made it even harder to understand the process. However, at some point we were ushered up to the stage to have photos taken with the couple and then whisked away to the dinning hall for a traditional banana leaf meal.
Everything happened in quite a rush. It was definitely the experience of a lifetime. Watching friends join hands is already such a special, sacred bonding moment. But watching in another country brings this experience to a whole other level of spirituality. We are grateful to have been apart of it.
We wish and pray for a lifetime of happiness for this wonderful couple. May God bless you, Jit and Pudja, with a joyful life!
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jun 8, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
After our warm welcome in India while on the backwaters of Kerala, we were rested and ready for what the country had in store for us. Through all of our travels, on only one other occasion did we get the opportunity to spend our time with a local family truly immersing ourselves in the culture surrounding us. Now that we have done it twice, we agree, this is definitely the way to travel. Yeah, you might miss out on the resort style luxury where the staff caters to your every whim. And you might miss out the privacy of having your own hotel room stocked with a mini fridge of beer. But in exchange, you gain a deep relationship with your hosts, the generosity of strangers treating you like family, and personal exposure to the local lifestyle. Yes, this is the way we like to travel.
We were invited to Kerala by our friend, Jit. Jit moved to the States to work as an engineer, which is how he and Jason first met. We spent a lot of time with him eating Indian food in Mississippi while we chatted about how different our two countries are. He promised me that once he was ready to get married, he would invite us to attend his wedding in India. A few years later, he upheld that promise. So, despite our pre-planned trip to Europe at the same time, how could we say no? We shortened our Europe trip and made time to visit Jit and his family for his upcoming nuptials.
Jit had a whole agenda ready for us. We were just along for the ride. Most of the time we had no idea where that ride was taking us. The ride started by Jit’s brother, Jipin, and cousin, Manu, picking us up at the houseboat dock and taking us to see the ocean. Technically, we saw the Laccadive Sea, but we thought it was the Indian Ocean, and we were ecstatic to mark another ocean off our bucket lists.
We then took a long scenic ride through the jungle to Jit’s summer home in Pathanamthitta where his family was waiting for us with lunch. After meeting the family and settling into our cozy room, Mom had lunch waiting for us on the table. Dad sat with us while we ate and the ladies served us. The conversation was quiet, probably due to the language barrier. Also, it was a little awkward to have everyone watch us as we ate. But the food was delicious! And it just kept coming. As we finished up our meals, the men in the house begin to eat. This is when we first noticed that we were the only ones eating with utensils. The rest of the family ate with their right hand. Suddenly, I understood why everyone was watching us eat. We must have looked so strange eating with forks, and I know they went through a lot of effort to find forks for us in the first place. Once we (as the guests) were done and the men of the house were done, the women ate last. It was very traditional and very different then dinners back home. Jason and I were stuffed.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the house before Jit and Manu took us on a drive of the country side. We drove through the jungle keeping our eyes out for wild elephants. We stopped for a short hike to a waterfall where we met some more locals that we followed up to the top. A nice dip in the water was refreshing and worth the steep hike up.
We then visited Manu’s home and met some of his family including his pet cows. His family was so happy to see us. They fed us snacks and tea, and I even got a beautiful necklace as a gift.
We never spotted any wild elephants. So, Jit and Manu took us to an elephant sanctuary that next morning. Once again, I came face to face with these massive lovable beasts.
Then, Jit and Manu took us to visit his mom’s family home. We visited with her parents, sisters, and nieces. They showed us the massive garden they kept in the neighborhood. It wasn’t the type of garden I am used to seeing here in the states. This garden was wild, thick and full of every fruit and vegetable we had tried in India so far. Mangoes, bananas, coconuts, peppercorn, even coffee beans! And of course rubber trees. They showed us how the rubber was gathered from the trees and processed right there in the backyard. We had a wonderful traditional lunch served on a banana leaf before we headed out for the next stop on the agenda.
Next, we stopped at a local stream where we rode a little round boat through the jungle. The ride was serene and perfect for the nice weather outside.
After more driving through the jungle-side, we ended up at Jit’s dad’s family home. We saw the house that Dad was born in. Then we walked to a local Hindu temple while the family attended church. We watched as they prayed to their gods. That next day Jit would be married to a beautiful woman who was waiting for him in Trivadrum. Two families would join. They had a lot to be blessed for. And as I watched this beautiful family gather under the temple roof and pray to gods I did not know, I couldn’t help but be amazed. I thought of my own family back home, my mom, my dad, my sisters and brothers. I thought about Jason’s family and how they are now mine too. And I thought about the family that Jason and I were creating at that moment, the baby growing inside my womb. In that moment, I whispered a prayer to my god, thanking him for reminding me of the faith we can find in family.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | May 30, 2016 | Asia, International Adventures
Getting to Southern India is no easy task, even if you leave from Vienna. An 8 hour flight, 6 hour layover, and 4 hour flight all in the middle of the night proved to be a bit more than I could handle. At least a bit more than pregnant Missie could handle. So by the time we landed in Cochin, I was shot. Thankfully, we had a houseboat waiting to float us through the beautiful backwaters of Kerala in Indian luxury fashion.
We arrived to the backwaters just in time for the start of houseboat season. So, the normally crowded canals were wide open and peaceful. As we boarded our private houseboat, we were in awe of the luxury they had waiting for us. Our room was decked out with flowers, fresh fruit, and chocolate. The king sized bed was calling my name. But I knew better then to snuggle in and waste our entire time in the beautiful country side tucked inside. A cold beer for Jason and a short nap for me on the roof top lounge was just what we needed to reboot our systems.
We stopped for fresh seafood at a local market mid-afternoon. During this stop, we shopped for some local woodworking souvenirs and visited a Catholic church. This turned out to be the oldest church we have ever explored, being built in 427 AD!
Then as it begin to rain, we boarded our houseboat and waited patiently for the dinner we just bought at the market to be cooked. We ate our wonderful dinner as the rain pitter-pattered around us. When we were through and after the rain passed, we took a canoe out into the smaller canals and watched as the locals continued on through their daily lives washing their cloths, their dishes, themselves, (pretty much anything) in the water as we floated by. We saw families dressed in bright colors and draped in gold as they walked the banks to the Hindu temple for the night. Their lives were fascinating and so different from our own.
We spent the night on the water as the boat swayed softly and the crickets chirped sweet music outside. And when we woke up at sunrise to the sound of kingfishers singing their morning songs, we couldn’t help but to feel the warm welcome India had given us.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Oct 6, 2015 | Asia, Europe, International Adventures
As we near our next big trip, Jason and I are going a bit stir crazy here in Texas. Yes, we do love it here, and we stay quite busy doing Texan-y things, like going to the rodeo and watching football. But nothing can quite replace the rush we get when we experience a complete different culture from our own. And that wanderlust in us has us looking back on our past adventures in envy. So, today I am thinking about our exploration of Istanbul, the city of charm.
After our 8 days at sea, it was nice to wind down on land. Ok, wind down? Maybe, not. Istanbul is not really a city you wind down in. But either way, we were on land. And we had two days to see the city. Two days is a very aggressive timeline. But if you know me, you know that I can see a lot in two days.
We started our tour of Istanbul at the famous Grand Bazaar. The title of the Grand Bazaar should have prepared me for what we were up against. But the word “Grand” doesn’t really capture the essence of this bazaar. Perhaps it should be called “Colossal, paralyzing, in-your-face” Bazaar. Because that is how I felt from the moment I walked in. And I LOVED it. Yeah, I was scared to death to look any shop giver in the eye out of fear of being talked into buying a rug. And yeah, being chased down the aisle because you ignored aggressive shop owners was also uncomfortable. But looking past the aggressiveness of it all, I was astounded by the never ending stimuli that continued to catch my senses. The colors of the lamps, scarfs, and beads… The aromas of the exotic spices… The taste samples of the Turkish delight… Oh My! Yes, maybe it was a bit of sensory overload. Still, Jason and I let ourselves get caught up in it all. And we left with a good amount of trinkets to take home.
Our next stop was at the Basilica Cistern, the largest of several ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city. The semi-long wait to get down into the cistern was worth every minute. The moment you walk into the cool underground you feel an eerie sense of being pulled into a dark underworld. However, the mass of touristy people in all directions brings you back to reality quickly.
The next morning we woke at sunrise to try to beat the crowds for Istanbul’s main attractions, the mosques. And despite the unexpected downpour, we headed out wrapped in rain gear to the
Hagia Sofia. After some creative deals with street tour guides, we were the first guests to walk through the Hagia Sophia doors that day. Our early rise paid off. The former mosque and former Christian church was undergoing restorations while we were there. However, we still were knocked breathless at our first gaze up to the iconic dome.
Then, we strolled across the square to the Blue Mosque and waited in a line that seemed to last an eternity. The reward of seeing the millions of blue tiles filling the mosque was good enough to pay off the wait. However, we were crowded into the small room with many other people forcing us to snap a few photos and leave quickly to get fresh air.
We spent the rest of the day walking around the city soaking in the local culture and ended the night with a wonderful dinner in a rooftop bar overlooking both beautiful mosques.
Istanbul definitely has that charm I expected from an old Turkish city. At the same time, it had that bustling big city feel you’d expect out of one of the largest cities in the world. Every corner presented something new. Every alley was a mini adventure. Every shop and bistro was packed full of culture. It was a wanderlust’s dream getaway, and the memory of every bit of it has me begging for more: more culture, more charm, and more adventure.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Jul 26, 2015 | Asia, Europe, International Adventures
As the weather continues to get hotter and the days continue to get longer, I find myself daydreaming about my next adventure. Sadly, our next scheduled trip isn’t until November. What was I thinking when I decided to skip this year’s summer vaca so that we could spend the holidays in Europe? I must have been crazy thinking that I could last that long in between travels! Now, all I have is my memories of last year’s summer vacation spent in the perfect mild weather of the Mediterranean Sea to feed my wanderlust.
When Jason told me that his number one bucket list country was Turkey, I thought to myself, why? OK, maybe not to myself. Maybe, very openly and rather bluntly. “Turkey, how boring! What about Paris?! What about Rome?!” But he quickly made me feel pretty sheltered and naïve. And all it took was a few Google image searches of Istanbul and the Mediterranean Sea. It was time for this small town country girl to step outside her comfort zone and experience something completely different.
So, after convincing our family that visiting Turkey was perfectly safe, we packed up and headed on a non-stop flight to Istanbul. And one more short flight and bumpy bus ride later brought us to the coastal village of Fethiye staring into the pure blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
We had just enough time to explore Fethiye’s famous tombs before our sail boat left the docks. These 2,400 year old tombs were carved into the mountainside by the Lycians. These were the first of the many tombs we saw scattered throughout the Turkish coastline. As we gazed up at the massive rock structures, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and amazement. Plus, the view of the city with the blue sea backdrop was breathtaking.
We could have stayed up here all day, but we had a boat to catch. So we walked the small curvy roads towards the coast until we found the docks. And excitingly, we boarded our boat ready to meet our new boat mates. We had 8 days at sea ahead of us. Which was a little nerve-racking as we had no idea if we would get along with the other 12 people on the boat. However, it didn’t take long for that worry to go away. We had an amazing group of people from Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, and of course the US.
After introductions and learning the house rules, we began our sail. We spent the night anchored in a quiet cove where we swam in the Mediterranean water for the first time. Then, we had a delicious fish dinner on the boat and a night of drinking games to wrap up our first day at sea. That night, we were rocked to sleep in our cabins by the soft ocean waves while we dreamt of our adventures to come.
Those dreams were interrupted by the sound of the boat’s motor at first light that morning. I rolled onto my side to ignore the loud hum, and for a second, I thought I would go back to sleep. Then the boat started to move, and as it gained speed causing it to rock heavily, I quickly learned I was not going to sleep any longer. So, I stumbled my way to the deck and found a resting spot at the back of the boat. Soon everyone else joined, all looking quite green. The captain brought us loaves of bread, which seem to help with the sea sickness, and we all loaded up on Dramamine, which seemed to help a little more. And after a few heaves over the side of the deck, we all started to question how exciting our adventure at sea would actually be. However, despite the sea sickness, we still were in awe at the beauty that surrounded us. Eventually, we came to stop and had a wonderful Turkish breakfast which was perfect for refueling our now empty bellies. Then another short ride later, we arrived at Butterfly Valley, our first stop on the coastline tour.
Butterfly Valley is exactly what the name claims. A huge valley in which butterflies migrate to every year. Unfortunately, we were not visiting during butterfly season. However, that did not diminish the spine tingling views. As we neared the valley masked by a layer of morning fog I felt like we were about to step foot into Jurassic Park.
Once ashore, we took a short beautiful hike into the valley where we found a small waterfall. We climbed up the waterfall and were rewarded with an amazing view of the valley and sea. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend in this one location. So, we all reluctantly re-boarded the boat and started back at sea once more, this time better prepared for the oncoming sea sickness.
Our next stop was Gemiler Island, also known as St. Nicholas Island. Yes, Santa Clause himself. The island contains the ruins of five Byzantine churches. We spent our afternoon trekking through the ruins. Every corner we turned brought something new and exciting.
We spent the night anchored outside Gemiler Island. We had a pretty easy night as everyone was still feeling a little queasy from the first day of sailing. We settled in our cabins for a much needed good night’s rest. That was the idea anyhow. Mother Nature had other plans. I woke up that night with the boat heavily rocking back and forth. I could hear the hard rain hitting the deck above and the loud roars of thunder. I wondered if we were safe. Surely the captain and crew would let us know if we in danger, right? As the boat creaked from the heavy rocking, I feared it would rip apart. But there was nothing I could do, other than curl up and try to think of better things. Eventually the storm passed and the boat survived. And once again I was awoken by the loud hum of the motor at first light. I made my way to the deck and found my wet seat. A few minutes later, we were off to sea.
That day we were awarded with a walk through the village of Kas. It was nice to get our feet on solid ground for a bit. Then, we spent the clear night under that stars enjoying life.
The next morning, we started our day in a small village called Ucagiz. It seemed like nothing more than a fishing village, until we wandered across these tombs.
After a few hours of exploring, we boarded back up and rode by the Sunken City, which sounded a lot more interesting than it actually was. Then, we arrived at Kaleko, where we explored a crusaders castle dated back to the 4th century B.C.
For the night, we headed to a nice cozy cove area. We found a pirate cave to explore and then spent the rest of the evening swimming. That night the boys headed to shore for a crazy bonfire, and the girls stayed on the boat and slept under the stars, slumber party style.
The next morning, we stayed in the cove and spent the day swimming and kayaking around the cove. That night we got all dolled up and went to a small pirate bar hidden in the cove. We spent the night dancing with all the other travelers sailing in the area.
For the last couple days, we sailed back in the open sea stopping at a nice beach here and there. When we arrived back in Fethiye, we spent our last night together in a hookah bar knowing that we would most likely never see each other again. That is the bittersweet part of traveling. You meet amazing people and get to know them closely for a very fleeting moment. Then you part ways and go back to your own corner of the world. Sure, you exchange emails and become Facebook friends. But as the days pass you realize that the people you met on that trip are quite different then the people you see in your Facebook news feed. But then again, you never know when our paths may cross again.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | May 3, 2015 | Asia, International Adventures
After two weeks touring Thailand with our dear friends from Miami and Chicago, a little alone time was welcomed. And what better way to wind down our trip than with a quick stop in Cambodia to explore the temples of Angkor Wat? OK, so maybe the “wind-down” wasn’t as relaxing as one would have hoped. But after a few days on the beaches of Phuket, I was ready for a little more adventure before our return to reality. So, we said our tearful goodbyes and hopped a quick plane to Siem Reap where the adventure began, Tomb Raider style.
Thailand is a pretty touristy destination. Technically, Angkor Wat is too. So, I’m not quite sure what I expected when we got off our plane and stepped into the tiny one terminal airport. Perhaps we had become accustomed to the busier streets of Thailand. Cambodia, on the other hand, was a bit more laid back, made obvious by the children riding their bikes to school and the random cows grazing in the ditches. After a leisurely ride on many dirt backroads, we arrived in our small boutique hotel bubbling over with anticipation of seeing the temples. So, we wasted no time. The hotel set up a tuk tuk driver, Mr. Theon, to cater to us for our entire stay. So after buying our three day passes, we immediately headed to the best temple for watching the sunset.
This temple required a short hike up a hillside where it was situated high enough to get a good glimpse of the sunset over the forest trees. And right away, we got to experience the crowds of tourists that Angkor Wat temples are famous for. It’s quite amazing how many people flock to these temples every day. I suppose that proves just how amazing the views and atmosphere of these ruins are. However, it does dull the experience a tad when you need to share it with hundreds of strangers. Nevertheless, we took it all in, our first temple sighting and the vast jungle surrounding it.
We headed back in to town and found a small local restaurant nearby where I had the best duck of my life. We would have liked to explore the city’s nightlife, but it was a long day of carrying backpacks through the airport. Our backs ached. Thankfully, we were able to get massages in our room which put us right to sleep.
The next morning, Mr. Theon met us 5:00 AM. The hotel packed us a breakfast and we headed to the temples while it was still dark outside. We arrived at Angkor Wat with hundreds of other tourists all stumbling in the dark to find the best spot to watch the sun rise. Most people gathered around the pools setting up tripods and staking their claim on precious space. We tried this, but the crowd proved to be a little much for me. So, we set up the tri-pod directly in front of the entrance into the Angkor Wat complex and sat on the stone pathway to eat our breakfast while the sun slowly rose above the horizon. And as the sun did its thing, we starred in amazement at the vast temple before us.
You can read all about Angkor Wat and the other surrounding temples here. I am not a history buff, so I will spare you all the butchering of the details. Yes, knowing its history made the temples that more grand. But even without a tour guide giving us blow by blow details, I was in awe. Still, I had Jason with me who had read quite a bit about the temples prior to arriving in Cambodia. He was all the tour guide I needed.
As the sun came up, it started to get hot. Really hot. I mean seriously. I live in Houston. I should be used to this kind of heat. But I wasn’t. That didn’t stop us, we loaded up on water and continued to explore while soaking our cloths with sweat.
Our next stop was the ancient capital city, Angkor Thom, which contained many small temples (well, small compared to Angkor Wat but still rather large). We started by exploring the temple Bayon, most characterized by the dozens of faces carved into the temple towers. This may have been my favorite temple, although it is really hard to pick. The other temples in the area paled in comparison to Bayon, but that didn’t stop us from exploring each one of them. At one point we did get somewhat lost in the jungle. We wondered around on a beaten path hoping we didn’t stumble upon any landmines.
After making our way through the entire city in the high noon heat, we could have called it a day. However, we didn’t have time for that. So, we climbed into our tuk tuk, and Mr Theon drove us to the next temple, Ta Prohm. This temple is best known as the Tomb Raider Temple. It was a smaller temple then some of the others we had explored, but it had its own charm about it. It was overtaken by the forest. Huge tree roots had dug their way into the stone and started to bring the temple down. I really did feel like Angelina Jolie, well minus the hundreds of other people crowding the temple with me.
And after climbing through the ruined temple pretending we were in an Indiana Jones movie, we were exhausted. Mr. Theon dropped us off at a restaurant where we re-fueled and debated calling it a day. No time though. So, back in the tuk tuk we went. We hit up multiple more temples, all too small to remember their names, before we couldn’t take the site of another temple and finally called it a day.
Back in the hotel, we showered the red dirt and sweat off and relaxed our aching feet. Then, a bit refreshed, we ventured out to find food. We landed on Pub Street, which was bustling a bit more like what we encountered in Thailand. There was a pretty vast market in the area. So, we shopped and ate some street food snacks before settling in at a restaurant and filling up with beer.
The next morning, we met Mr. Theon at 6:30 AM and headed out to finish up the last of the temples. We stopped by Angkor Wat one last time to catch a few shots of the sunrise. And then took our time through the remaining last temples, soaking it all in. We bought some Cambodian treats, including tiny little clams in a spicy sauce. And then we were through. We were all templed out. It was an exciting three day trip. Perhaps, not the relaxing end to the long vacation one might of hoped for. But that just isn’t our style. We made our way back to Bangkok for one last night before returning to reality.
And now, I sit on a rough turbulent plane ride on yet another boring work trip, dreaming of the day I can return. Southeast Asia has won our hearts. And there is still so much more to see.
Until next time,
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