Rafting at Pokhara

Pokhara is a very popular spot in Nepal, and despite this being our third year here I had yet to go and Jeremiah was only there for a stop-over.  We ate, shopped, rested and rafted.  Jeremiah stayed behind with the kiddos and I went with the group.  A short van ride and we were at the river.

The following are a sequence of one rapid from start to finish:

And let me tell you, no doubt about it, that water is cold!  Pokhara was definitely warmer than Kathmandu has been (long sleeve shirts versus heavy coats) but that splash shirt did little to keep us warm.  Though the rapids weren't as intense as at Last Resort it was tons of fun and over way too quickly!

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From ABC trek Jeremiah did last spring break

Staying warm inside: Poler Napsack

December-February brings such a chill in the mornings and evenings that houses, with no heating, stay cold all day.  4:30pm hits and I'm always looking around to see what window was left open and realize it's just cold and drafty.  Last year we learned the ropes: we layer, wear stocking hats, put slippers on, boil water for tea and hot water bottles and scour the internet for more warm things we can wear.  Enter Jeremiah, king of finding cool stuff, and the Napsack by Poler.

Basically a sleeping bag:

But come on, we can't spend all our evenings snuggled in a sleeping bag, we need to get some stuff done.  Poler to the rescue with side zippers you can pop your arms out!  Use your computer, read a book, drink your coffee, or in our case, change a diaper and play games with a toddler:

But no one wants to hop around in their sleeping bag to get around; Poler solved this problem as well - you can open the bottom!

The napsack arrived in the mail this week and I've worn it a number of times and love it.  It's sure to get a ton of use to keep me warm inside (not to mention outside)!  Also a bonus that the company is from Portland!

Dubai

2 days in Dubai for work, with most of it in the airport, hotel and mall, left me utterly overwhelmed by wealth. The contrast between Dubai and Kathmandu is so vast that it's safe to say they are quite opposite.  Tall shiny buildings, shopping complexes bigger and more extravagant than I've seen in a long time, huge multilane freeways and nice things everywhere put me in culture shock.  

The one similarity I found was that the people in both cities don't use sidewalks (Kathmandu because they aren't there or if they are people aren't used to using them, Dubai I assume because everyone prefers driving in air conditioning to walking?).

So while I appreciated the nice hotel, Starbucks and H&M, I was also ready to head out. 

(Terrible quality, but that is snow inside of the mall when it's 100 F outside!)

Round 2

Pretty sure the last time we had so much dead air here was around the time we announced this.  I have an equally good reason to not be blogging this time around too - we're preparing for Oh, Baby O.2!  Baby is due beginning of December and we couldn't be more excited!

So, what have we been up to?  I had a bit of a hiatus there where I was too tired and sick to do much other than play with Tegan from the couch - she's a trooper.  Jeremiah hiked Annapurna Base Camp, no big deal.  I'm hoping he'll write a bit of it here, we'll see, at the very least share some of the pictures.  Warm weather has come, as well as some crazy monsoon rains.  Rain means more electricity though so I'm all for it.  We've also been wrapping up the school year; at the end of the week we fly home for what I'm sure will be a fun-filled summer!  

Warmer weather

It's looking like spring around here - this week we took the extra comforter off the bed, stopped putting Tegan in fleece footy pajamas and wore sweaters instead of jackets to school.  I'm ready for sunny warm days and evenings that I don't I have to bundle up for!

Bringing some color to the world

It's been rainy and grey this week and yesterday on a walk to grab dinner with friends Tegan was the only spot of color around.  And she shared it with enthusiasm!

 

Instagram lately

It's been cold here lately.  Really cold at night.  Apparently one of the coldest temps in the last few years.  With no heat and drafty windows/doors the inside often feels like the outside.  We're pretty lucky with our house, it stays warmer than most.  There is the option to use gas space heaters that don't require electricity, but those just make us nervous with the fumes and open coils for Tegan to touch.  Instead, we wear layers.    

Taken at school in the morning.  Our buildings have outdoor hallways which makes for chilly walks between rooms.

As soon as the sun goes down the chill sets in.  Jeremiah's working on his homework while I curl up with a comforter, tea and a book.

Tegan doesn't sleep with blankets, so we layer her up for bed.  2 pairs of pajamas and a fleece sleep sack for walkers.  (The hat was put on when she woke up, she doesn't sleep with that, though I've been known to!)

A weekend brunch was kept cozy with a huge fire.  It was wonderful.  We would love to have a fireplace.

Rainy season

Rainy season is coming to an end, but we've had a few good rains since we've been here.  This one Tegan checked out (and loved):

Come on summer

While Jeremiah likes the cool weather, I am ready for the sun to come out!  Today was beautiful and I'm hopeful it sticks around.  Snapped this photo while we were on a walk around the neighborhood - without our coats on!

Does this mask match my shoes?

One of the first things I noticed about all the scooter drivers in Taiwan was all the masks they wear.  This is to help prevent breathing in the fumes and pollution in the air.  Now, who knows if that actually works at all, but there are a few other benefits to wearing a mask.  #1 - they keep your face warm when you drive in the cold and  #2 - yet another chance to accessorize your outfit. 

Add sunglasses and my face disappears!

What do I bring to Taiwan?: Cool weather wardrobe check

We often get asked by people moving to Taiwan what they should bring.  It's a hard question to answer.  But, as we go through this second year I'm able to get some perspective on the things that we found important.  I'm hoping the "What do I bring to Taiwan" posts can help give some ideas to those moving here about what to pack.

Last year at about this time I started wishing that I hadn't filled my bag with only shorts and tank tops, because it started getting chilly outside.  And worse than that, I quickly found out it was often cooler inside than out (I guess when you have tile floors and concrete walls you should expect the cold to stay).  We're more prepared this year - each with a few long-sleeve overshirts and sweater/sweatshirts.

The last few days it has cooled down a lot in Taichung (currently 67 wunderground says); people are bringing out their pants and sweaters.  Not this cold yet though:

Cool rainy day in February

Windy city

The whole island is covered in orange/red now.  The winds are making our windows rattle.

**Sunday evening update:  Not a whole lot more than wind today, seems Fanapi decided to head south.

Typhoon Fanapi

Looks like this typhoon will hit us tomorrow evening:

Sunshine on the water looks so lovely

  

Love this shot J took.  Sunshine (or suntan) on shoulders is not always appreciated by the people in Taiwan.

Its getting cold in here

It's in the mid 50s right now, and not much warmer inside

We're dreaming of a white christmas

But maybe not quite as white as last year...



Here is a picture of our weather today:


We are looking forward to weather that actually makes it feel like it is winter!

Baby it's cold outside

Ok, so maybe it isn't "cold", but it has been getting cooler. We've also acclimated to the warm weather so what used to feel comfortable is now chilly. What better way to warm up and feel in the christmas spirit than enjoying a cup of hot chocolate?


Unfortunately we don't have chocolate soy milk at the store down the street to heat up. But when I remembered my mom used to make us hot chocolate on the stove sometimes with cocoa power I knew we could improvise. With soy milk, hershey's cocoa powder from the import section of our grocery store, left over sugar packets and a pot on the stove we made our own hot chocolate - vegan style.

With warm mugs and A Christmas Carol on the tv we are well on our way to feeling "christmasy" in our new home away from home, though counting down the days until we spend christmas with our family and friends!

On the 1st day of Christmas Taichung brought to us...

A big blow up santa looking out onto the sunny skies.

Brrrr

For the first time since we've been here I walked outside, got goose bumps and said "it's cold out here!" Yup, I finally got cold by the actual weather and not just the air conditioning. Tomorrow night I may think about wearing jeans instead of shorts.