Category Archives: Asian Adventures

Well, we had another long weekend (Malaysia has had a string of holidays lately, the past Friday was the prophet Mohammed’s birthday) and this time we decided to stay in Malaysia but head to a section to which we had never been.  East Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  Borneo is a huge island (east of Singapore) that is split between three countries:  Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei.  Boreno is famous for it’s beautiful rainforests, gorgeous beaches and marine life, and general natural beauty.  We decided to go and enjoy the beach and marine life–we needed to get out of the city!

We left our apartment in KL bright and early on Friday morning.  We had a bit of trouble with our taxi.  The taxi system in Kuala Lumpur is not very good.  There are plenty of cabs and fares are low, but the fares are so low that the drivers cannot make a good living off of them.  As a result, they often refuse to go by meter and set inflated prices to get certain places.  As you can imagine, at 4:45am going from a hotel to the airport, the problem is exacerbated and the bellmen like to get in on the action.  When they told us how much it was going to cost to get to the airport, it was about 40 Ringgit (about US$13) higher than it is supposed to be.  I noticed the taxi driver and bellman exchanging something through the window.  At that point, I knew exactly what was happening.  John managed to negotiate with the driver and get the rate to a reasonable level.  Upon arriving at the airport, John asked the driver why he and the bellman exchanged money.  The driver said that he doesn’t get jobs if he doesn’t do that.  I believe it.  Malaysia did raise cab rates once last year but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the increased cost-of-living and the increase in gas prices.

Beautiful Water in Kota Kinabalu

That adventure aside, we got to Kota Kinabalu without incident.  We stayed at a resort that was comprised of two hotels and a marina.  A marine park consisting of five islands was just off of the coast from the hotel.  After a delicious “American style breakfast” we went to our room to take a nap–those early flights really wipe us out!  After that, we went to the pool, had dinner, and then turned in.  We were anticipating a busy day the next day!

On Saturday, we got up, had breakfast and took off on a ferry to the Marine Park on one of the islands off of the coast of the hotel.  We had our snorkel gear and beach mats and were looking forward to a day at the beach!  The water felt wonderful–it wasn’t cold at all, yet it was refreshing.  I also need to mention that it is jellyfish season and signs are posted everywhere!  The water was the clearest we have seen in Asia thus far.  Standing on the pier looking into the water, we were able to see to the bottom and all kinds of beautiful tropical fish including the largest sea urchins we had ever seen (some were larger than 8 inches spike tip to spike tip).

After a yummy dinner!!!

We saw the most beautiful fish colored so vibrantly I never knew those colors existed in the animal kingdom!  We saw polka dot fish, rainbow fish, and even some fish camouflaged against the sandy bottom.  We also saw jellyfish!  The jellyfish were clear, but had a glowing purple center so we thought we would see them before they got us.  Keyword:  thought.  John ended up getting stung all over his feet and I got stung three times:  once the tentacles wrapped around my arm, once around my leg and the other brushed my shoulder.  I know the tentacles wrapped around because when the sting showed up (it affected me more than it did John) it was in distinct lines around my arm and my leg.  It felt like lots of bees stinging me all at once.  Fortunately, after a few minutes out of the water, my stings felt much better and I was able to continue with the day.

That night we had the most wonderful dinner at a Malaysian/Indian fusion restaurant called “Spice Island.”  We had paneer (cottage cheese) in a delicious tomato gravy with cashews and red snapper in a wonderful gravy all over rice.  It was so rich but it was so so so good!!!

Beautiful sunset

The next morning, we had our breakfast and then headed off to the Kota Kinabalu Sunday market!  We’ve been to lot of markets before, but this one was just a little bit different.  There was country music blaring in the background and there were tons of people.  They had not only fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, and clothes, but also live animals!

John with the chickens

We saw cages full of five and six puppies.  We joked that obviously PETA hadn’t made it to Kota Kinabalu yet.  Then, as we left the market, we passed a KFC and standing on the corner was a person in a chicken suit with a crutch and a sling and a picket sign protesting the restaurant.  THEY WERE FROM PETA!

Although I love KFC, this photo had to be taken!

After getting my picture with them (as a Kentucky girl, I had to do it.  I still love KFC, by the way) John informed them that we were looking for them near the dog cages in the market.  🙂

After leaving the market we went back to the hotel where we ate a fabulous buffet brunch, complete with quesadillas (a rarity at Asian tables).  We ate for over an hour, it was so delicious.  Our bellies full and trying to avoid the blistering sun, we decided on an indoor activity:  bowling!!  We got some very stylish socks (see picture)  and ending up splitting games.  After all of the trash talking I endured from John, I was pretty pleased.  🙂

Check out those killer shoes!!!

Later that afternoon, we headed back to the airport and flew back to Kuala Lumpur to get ready for the work week!!!  It was a wonderful RELAXING weekend.  Thank for reading everyone!!!

As most of your realize, the trip from Singapore back to Kentucky or Florida is a rather lengthy one, taking more than a day in travel time.  Since we were just back in August, we opted to stay in the eastern hemisphere for Christmas.  We decided we didn’t want to stay in Singapore or KL, we wanted to do something awesome!  So, we went to visit our dear friends Patrick and Yoshie in Manila, Philippines, and then spent Christmas in Hong Kong!

When booking our flight to Manila, we booked a budget airline that flies into Clark, Manila, not the main Manila airport.  Most airports in this part of the world have budget terminals that are separate from their main international terminals so we thought nothing of it.  As it turns out, Clark is an old U.S. airbase located about two hours outside of Manila proper.  So John and I land and hop on a “direct shuttle bus” not knowing what to expect.  The bus took off headed toward the city.  Within twenty minutes, we were stopped at a rest area/bus stop combination where vendors boarded the bus and tried to sell their goods.

John with his pie and pork on a stick...

We were like targets sitting together at the back of the bus.  We ended up buying a box of mini coconut pies and some pork on a stick.  Granted, the pork on a stick may not have been the most intelligent option in the rural Philippines, but we survived.

Three hours later, we were just arriving in Manila.  Our bus driver was supposed to drop us off at a mall, but instead we were dropped at a bus stop located on the median of a busy highway.  Dragging our suitcases along, we were finally able to find a cab that took us straight to our friends’ apartment.  We were so happy to see Yoshie.  🙂  She made our day when she told us she had booked a couples massage for us in the spa in their apartment complex.  So, as she went to finish her Chinese lesson, John and I went and had all of the stress of the day massaged away.  That night, we went to a wonderful authentic Filipino dinner with Patrick and Yoshie and talked until the early hours for the morning.

Yoshie and me at the diner

The next two days went by so fast–I feel like we saw a lot in Manila!  We saw the historic area called “Intermuros” (where Yoshie and I got to see a wedding) and got to eat some wonderful western food.  Manila has more western restaurants than any city over here I’ve seen!  We went to a diner, a couple of cafes for tapas, to a few markets.

Our last night in Manila had to be the most eventful.  We went to a fish market where you bargain for the fish, prawns, crab, etc. then take them to neighboring restaurants to be cooked in any style that you would like!  We (Yoshie bargained) picked up some tuna, salmon, prawns, and squid.  The locals were most helpful in the choosing of the seafood and they even let me hold a huge fish!!!

The fins were still twitching...

We took them to a restaurant next door where the hostesses are men who are dressed like women.  That definitely threw me off.  We ordered kalamari (squid) chili prawns, and a couple of types of cooked fish.  The food was absolutely incredible!  I’ve never had prawns so delicious and the tuna was scrumptious!  To top it all off, they had a live band who played my request:  “Country Roads” by John Denver.

Our Hungry Husbands

After dinner we headed to the main event of the evening:  The Hobbit Bar.  The Hobbit Bar claims to have “the smallest waiters in the world.”  Walking into this bar is like walking into a hobbit house, complete with a big round door, roots on the ceiling, and pictures of Gandalf and company everywhere.  Here’s the kicker–all of the waiters and waitresses were little people.  Only in the Philippines would a place like this be possible.  Yoshie and I enjoyed a mango margarita while the boys enjoyed a selection of beers from all over the world.  John even got a t-shirt.

At the Hobbit Bar in Manila

The best part of the weekend was spending time with our dear friends Patrick and Yoshie.  They moved away from Singapore at the end of the summer and we miss them terribly!  Manila was a fun city, but being with them made it even better.  We’re going to have to have another adventure soon!

The next morning, we all went to the airport.  Patrick and Yoshie were off to Korea to spent Christmas with Patrick’s parents and John and I were off to Hong Kong!  We arrived late in the evening and after finding our friend’s apartment (thanks, Mark for letting us stay there) we were off to find a bite to eat.  We ended up at a Dixieland Jazz bar in the middle of Kowloon (across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong proper) called Ned’s.  We listened to a band sing a mix of Christmas and jazz songs and even joined in with the rest of the Americans in the place for a rendition of Sinatra’s New York, New York.  After eating, we walked home on the Avenue of the Stars (Hong Kong’s equivalent to the Walk of Fame in Hollywood) which has a gorgeous view of the Hong Kong skyline.  Honestly, it is the most brilliant skyline I’ve ever seen!

The Venetian in Macao

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Macao, China–the Las Vegas of the East!  Macao is only an hour ferry-ride from Hong Kong and since Las Vegas is near and dear to our hearts (we were engaged there), we had to go!  We stayed at Hotel Lisboa, one of the classic Macoa hotels.  It’s the equivalent of the Flamingo on the Las Vegas strip.  The night, we ventured over to the Venetian (the second largest building in the world–large enough for every NFL team to play consecutively inside) to see the new Cirque de Soleil show.  We ended up getting first row seats which made for a fantastic show!!!  Before the show, we had an Italian dinner date night where we enjoyed a similar restaurant to where we got engaged (John proposed at an Italian restaurant at the Venetian in Las Vegas). After dinner and the show, we wandered around a bit before heading to our hotel for the night.

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and started to explore the city a bit more.  We visited the Wynn and MGM and were impressed by what we saw.  The MGM had some Chihuly blown glass and the Wynn had a delightful cafe.  In fact, we sat poolside for a few hours and just talked.  Finally, we caught a ferry back to Hong Kong to do a bit more exploring.  That night, we walked around Kowloon (part of Hong Kong, but across the harbour from the main skyline).  We went to the women’s market where we found tons of purses, belts, shoes, etc. ready for bargaining.  Too bad we don’t speak Cantonese, or our bargaining probably would have gone better.  We then took the subway over the Hong Kong side and went to a few bars before calling it a night.

John and the Wynn in Macao

In the morning, we set out to really explore Hong Kong!  It was Christmas Eve and we were determined to see as much of the city as we could!  First, we ate some excellent dim sum (Chinese appetizers) and then explored a local produce market.  Next, we went for a ride on the world’s longest escalator/travelator that went up the hillside with a plethora or restaurants flanking each side.  Once we reached the top, we headed to Victoria’s Peak for the most spectacular view of a skyline I’ve ever seen.  It was here we ate our Christmas Eve dinner (thanks, Robin!).

View from our Christmas Eve Dinner

We ate at a steakhouse next to a window overlooking a spectacular view of the city.  I couldn’t believe it–it felt like we were spending Christmas Eve on top of the world.  It was beautiful.  Following a Christmas Eve church service, we went back to the apartment and went to sleep.  We had a big day the next day, not only was it Christmas Day, but were were off to….

Hong Kong Disneyland!!!!  We decided to spend Christmas at a place where we knew Christmas would be done right.  And, let’s face it, Disney’s got it down.  We rode the train out there and got there around 11:00 in the morning.  We spent the entire day riding rides (including Space Mountain, the Jungle Cruise, the Philharmagic show, etc.) and enjoying being around something so familiar.  The highlight of the experience, however, was Canto-Mickey.

My husband, Buzz Lightyear!

It’s true.  Mickey and his whole gang didn’t speak English–they spoke Cantonese (a dialect of Chinese).  We also saw Merlin trying to pull the sword out of the stone and yelling at it in Cantonese.  Bottom line:  it was hilarious.  We’ll try to get the videos on You Tube before too long.  Don’t worry–we have proof of Canto-Mickey!

The Disney experience was as perfect as it is in the States.  The only different was the language and the food offerings.  We were hard pressed to find a pizza and a favorite snack seemed to be squid on a stick.  We ended the day watching the “Let it Snow” parade, playing in the fake snow on Main Street, USA (yep, they had one of those) and putting on our 3-D glasses to check out the lighting effects in the trees.

Definitely two Disney kids...

That night, we returned to the apartment and called our families to wish them a Merry Christmas.

The next morning we took off from Hong Kong–such an incredible city.  It would definitely be a fun place to live.  Who knows–we may end up there one day…  🙂

Thanksgiving was coming up and we hadn’t yet decided where to spent the holiday.  They don’t celebrate it over here–instead it was an Islamic holiday called Hari Raya Haji.  John had a long weekend and I didn’t have class so we decided to go to one of the most famous places in southeast Asia–Bali, Indonesia.

We took off early on Thanksgiving morning from Kuala, Lumpur, crossed the equator and arrived in Bali in the early afternoon.  As we walked out of the airport, we were bombarded by taxi drivers insisting they take our luggage and get us to our hotel.  (We didn’t realize this, but Bali is a large island–not just a little hideaway in the South Pacific.  It can take up to four hours to reach parts of the islands from the airport.)  Fortunately, our hotel was only about an hour away and as we were purchasing our taxi coupon–we saw him.  A sweet Indonesian man wearing a safari hat yelling:  “Mr. John!  Mr. John!  Over here!”  Running up to us was Uru, our hotel’s van driver, who we would become close with during the trip.  While booking the room, we had requested an airport pick-up, but it was never confirmed.  And here he was!  Uru was a sight for sore eyes.  He loaded us up in the van and took us to our hotel:  the Mara River Safari Lodge.  Yes, that’s right.  A safari in the middle of Bali.

Pretty excited about feeding the animals!

Our room overlooked a “savanna” and was filled with zebras, elephants, wildebeests, and even a rhino named Nelson.  We even had an “animal feeding” bucket in the room that was full of carrots so we could feed the animals from our balcony.  So cool!  The pool overlooked the same savanna.  It was and interesting experience to be floating in a pool in Bali and to see a zebra stroll by.  After cleaning up, we received a phone call from our friend Uru telling us he was off work for the evening and he would see us in the morning.  That night we had our Thanksgiving dinner at the Lion Restaurant (thanks, Grandmother and Papaw!!!), a dining spot situated next to a lion enclosure.  Before we entered the restaurant, we had a chance to play with a baby liger–a lion and tiger mix.

With the liger

Although it was a baby, it was a pretty feisty little guy who would growl and scratch at us whenever given the chance.  Never thought I would ever get to pet a liger…Napoleon would be so jealous!

The enclosure in the restaurant had 4 adult lions (1 male, 3 female) with a separate enclosure behind the bar with a large male lion to watch you while you sip on your gin and tonic.  Just as we were enjoying our salads, we noticed large chunks of raw meat flying into the exhibit and the lions leaping towards it.  We found out later that this was kangaroo meat (very lean and healthy, we understand).  The only watering hole in the enclosure was along the glass behind which we sat (this glass was less than an inch thick–if the lion wanted to come through it, he would have had no problem).  As a result, we got up close and personal with the lions.  I have to admit, I was eating my meat very carefully, so as not to tempt the lion.

Pre-Safari Breakfast with the Lions

The next morning, we woke up to the phone ringing.  It was Uru telling us he had come to work.  With that, we went to breakfast in the same lion restaurant and gorged ourselves on a full continental breakfast including PORK bacon.  Most bacon in Malaysia and Indonesia is beef since both of these countries are Islamic and anything from a pig is consider to be “unclean.”  Unlike the rest of Indonesia, Bali is predominately Hindu.  Ironically, the Hindu’s don’t eat beef, so beef bacon is out of the question.  John and I prefer pork bacon (it’s what we grew up with) so this was a welcome treat after spending so much time in Islamic Malaysia.  After a fabulous breakfast, we were off on a Safari.  That day, we saw lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), elephants, white tigers, and even a few crazy monkeys.  We were also fortunate to see a piranha feeding.  Don’t ever stick your hand in the Amazon!  As we were walking back to the hotel, who did we see, but Uru?!?  He had come into the park to find us and tell us he was leaving for the day.  He knew we were changing hotels the following morning (we decided to spend half of our vacation at the famous Bali beaches) and wanted us to book him to drive us there.  He also wanted us to come over to his house to meet his wife and young son.  We politely declined.  After spending months in two different countries, this was our romantic get-away and we wanted to have dinner–just the two of us!

That is one big baby!

After a day at the Safari in the hot sun, we went back to our savanna bungalow to take a little break.  As we were getting ready for dinner, we received a phone call.  “Mr. Candeto, there is a baby elephant in the lobby.”  That is a sentence I never thought I would hear.  We hurriedly got ready and headed to the hotel lobby where we encountered the “baby elephant”–all 18 years and several tons of him.  After feeding him a banana and a quick photo op, we headed into the restaurant for another dinner with the lions.

The next morning, we were off to a different hotel, this time on the beach!  Uru was waiting for us at the hotel lobby after breakfast and off we went!  He took us on a small tour to one of the best “surfing beaches” where we saw little old ladies and children collecting beautiful rounded stones to be sold for the hotels for landscaping and floral arrangements.  We also saw some Hindu temples and some real Bali households.  A few hours later, we were at our next hotel where we had a small villa next the pool, complete with a nice front porch.  We spent the afternoon at a little beach bar sipping tropical drinks and talking.  That night we found a restaurant with tables on the beach and ate under the stars.  We were starting to really love Bali.  🙂

Merry Christmas from Beautiful Bali!!! 🙂

The next morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that was brought to our front porch.  We had fruits, eggs, bacon, and pastries and some amazing fresh fruit juice.  After that we enjoyed a morning of reading (me for my dissertation and John for fun) by the pool.  By the afternoon, we were ready to do a bit more exploring.  We headed to Kuta, the touristy beach of Bali.  During the day, this beach was nothing compared the beach near our hotel.  It was crowded with lots of tourist traps.  Kind of like Myrtle Beach when compared to Hilton Head.  I was starting to wonder what the big deal was with this particular part of the island.  Then, the sun began to set and I saw what all the fuss was about.  In the foreground were the shadows of surfers trying to catch one last wave before turning in for the night and in the background, the most expansive sunset I’d ever seen.  It was gorgeous.

Bali sunset

After this, we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a traditional Balinese meal, then went for a swim before heading to bed.  Our flight back to KL was at 6:00 the next morning, so we hit the sack.  Bali was beautiful and we didn’t even scratch the surface.  We still haven’t seen the legendary rice paddies and temples that are populate the inner part of the island.  I guess we’ll just have to go back.  😉

What a whirlwind of a weekend we just had!

As I mentioned in my previous post, last Monday John called me and said, “would you like to go to the beach this weekend?”  The rest is history and we ended up spending a glorious 36 hours on Langkawi, Malaysia–a little island close to the Malaysia/Thailand border.

Our adventure began at 4:30am on Halloween morning.  We decided to take the first flight to Langkawi on Saturday morning and the last flight back to KL on Sunday night so as to maximize our weekend island time.  We needed to leave the hotel at around 5:30 in the morning, so when John wasn’t up at 4:50 and we still weren’t packed, I decided to play the Monster Mash to wake him up.  Me dancing around to the Monster Mash at 5:00am was not amusing to John.  He told me I truly was “Scary Beth”  🙂

After an hour-long cab ride to the airport and an hour-long flight, we touched down in Langkawi and headed straight for the hotel.

View from our chairs

Fortunately, the cab prices were set (this is highly unusual for Malaysia), so we had a very easy time getting to our hotel:  Berjaya Beach Resort.  We got in, had a HUGE “American Breakfast,” went to our villa (with a “15% ocean view”), and took a little nap.  Then, off to the pool/beach!!!  We had a beautiful view from our lounge chairs and enjoyed some tropical cocktails.  John and I have a problem where we can’t sit still for more than ten minutes, so a few minutes later, we were off on a jetski!!!  I think the island was even more beautiful from the water–it was absolutely perfect!  Crystal blue water, mountains right by the coast, gorgeous palm trees and a beautiful beach.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Date Night on the Water

A little later, we had date night!  We went to a Thai restaurant about 100m out over the water.  We had some amazing green curry and bananas in cocunut milk and enjoyed a beautiful night view of the ocean.  The restaurant even had this huge spotlight pointing down into the sea so we could see the big fish swimming around.  It was amazing!!!  We enjoyed a wonderful conversation then took in some music at the lobby bar before hitting the sack.

John enjoying the beach and some fruit juice!

The next morning, we decided to go on another crazy adventure–we rented a motorscooter!  Have either of us ever driven a motorscooter?  No!!!  Well, John told me later that he did try once and that it was a failed attempt.  Hmm…perfect.  So glad he chose not to tell me until AFTER he had about two more hours of practice under his belt.  After the first bit, he turned out to be a pretty decent driver and I could loosen my grip a bit (I’m pretty sure he still has fingernail marks in his chest).

Funky Monkey in the Middle of the Road

The ride was beautiful–we went to a gorgeous beach (sipped from coconuts) then to a mountain top with a spectacular view and made it back in time to go back to the Thai restaurant for sunset.  We had several encounters with wildlife on our trip including a dead alligator (no kidding–it was in the middle of the road) AND we almost hit some monkeys that decided to dart across the street.  Now, I’ve heard of people hitting possums, turtles, squirrels, rabbits, deer, but monkeys?  Never a dull moment….

My view. Hello back of John's head!

Our weekend ended with a beautiful sunset over the ocean, sprinting back to the hotel lobby in a torrential downpour (it really is the rain forest) and a flight back to Kuala Lumpur where we started 36 hours earlier.  Whew…what an incredible weekend!!!

On our adventure!

Currently, I’m back in Singapore (John is in KL) and I’m finishing my last week of classes!!!  One more funny story before I end this post.  John and I had pancakes yesterday and, obviously, enjoyed some maple syrup on them.  Our sink is full of glasses that need to be washed (I don’t have a dishwasher here) so I left the plates by the sink.  Then, last night, I fell asleep on the couch and failed to run water over them.  I know–terrible housing keeping.  But, it happened.  This morning, I awakend to a dead lizard stuck in the syrup.  It gets better.  The lizard’s tail was on one side of the plate and the body was on the other.  I freaked out and called John in KL (I really have no idea what I expect him to do when I call him with my critter stories) and decided that that plate would never get washed–it was going down the trash chute.  As I picked up the plate, the lizard squirmed–it wasn’t dead after all!!!  Of course, I screamed, managed to put the plate into a plastic bag and sprinted to the garbage shoot.  I then called my Mom to report the story.  She laughed and instead of commenting on the lizard, she scolded me for my dishes not being washed!  Haha—-love you Mom.  I have to admit, that’s pretty bad.  🙂

Back to KL for me this weekend and a nice week in Singapore until then.  Until next time, we miss you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!

FYI:  Our US number will forward to our Singapore phone numbers AND our Malaysia phone numbers depending on what country we’re in.  So–feel free to call us wherever we are!!!!  🙂

Greetings all!

I am writing to you from Malaysia where John is working this week and I am enjoying my mid-semester recess.  By enjoying I mean doing lots of work sans class.  It’s actually been very productive.  John works from 8:30am until at least 10:00pm (if not later) every day, so that give me lots of time to spend with my books and the computer.  Plus, I go exploring sometimes.  Today for lunch, I ventured down a local street and found a “Tandoori House” with delicious Indian food.  Only thing that would make these little adventures better would be the husband!  🙂

John and I had an AMAZING adventure this past weekend.  In Singapore and Malaysia, it was the Hari Raya celebration–an Islamic holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan.  It’s a big deal–think Thanksgiving weekend in the US.  John had a four day weekend so we knew we had to take off.  Where to???  Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), Vietnam!!!!

We each got about an hour of sleep then night before we left.  John had just returned from KL and I had to submit some school work before the break.  So—5am rolled around and we were off to the airport.  At the airport, to our surprise, we met one of John’s colleagues, Tony, and his wife Courtney.  They were going to Saigon, also!!!  We would end up meeting later in the trip for some dinner!  We boarded the plane and an hour and a half later, we were in Vietnam!

Our first day in Saigon, we got to the beautiful Sophia Hotel and zonked out for a few hours.  When we were finally awake enough to be pleasant to each other and everyone around us, we began to do a bit of exploring!   First, our room.  We discovered that a) the safe was not bolted down (John could easily pick it up), b) the shower head was bolted into the wall so that no person over five feet tall could use it, c) instead of hot and cold water mixing to make warm it just oscillated between hot and cold water.  It may not sound like it, but our hotel really was nice–a great place to relax after a nice day roaming around the city.

John cooking our dinner at the BBQ Garden

We set out for dinner (yes, we slept a lot) and wandered down one of the main streets in Saigon until we found a place called BBQ Garden.  It was an outdoor restaurant with beautiful Christmas lights hanging down from the trees.  We ordered some delicious fruit drinks (the fruit in Vietnam was delicious) then ordered some meat dishes and steamed rice.  When they served the meat, we noticed it was raw.  Hmm….interesting.  Then, the waitress lit a gas grill in the middle of our table and we got to cook the food right there!  We had beef, chicken, and pork, and a yummy banana crepe (yes, Vietnam was colonized by the French so there are lots of delicious pastries!!).  It was fabulous!!!

Next, we headed the Rooftop Garden Bar at the Rex Hotel as recommended by my good friend Ben Ray.  It’s where the US officers would go for a drink during the Vietnam War (or American War, as they call it in Vietnam).  It was a beautiful rooftop bar with live entertainment including a Grecian born, German raised Canadian living and working in Saigon and an Australian Elvis impersonator.  I can’t make this stuff up.  I have videos of these fine gentlemen posted on Facebook.  I’ll get John to put them on his You Tube site once he gets a spare moment…

Historic Rooftop Garden Bar. Elvis may even be in this picture.

The next day, we were off to the War Remnants Museum.  When we arrived, it was closed for lunch (apparently, siestas are common in Vietnam also) so we headed off to find a restaurant to grab a bite to eat.  We happened upon a little restaurant that had no food.  I kid you not.  No food.  They did have frozen yogurt though and the manager was so excited about it, he got it for us himself.  When we tasted it, it did not taste like the frozen yogurt that we like to think of.  No, it was not soft serve.  It was Dannon yogurt that had been put in the freezer and frozen.  Therefore, it was literally frozen yogurt.  Actually, it was pretty yummy.  We finished it and some lotus tea and were on our way.

Finally, we got the museum (it was open this time) and went inside to see the relics the Vietnamese collected during the war.  They had American tanks and airplanes, photo galleries of Vietnamese war victims, and all the anti-war propoganda you would ever want to see.  One thing I was very surprised by, having been educated in the US was the way the war was presented.  The South Vietnamese government was referred to as the “puppet” government of the US.  And, in the museum, Vietnam referred to the North Vietnamese as us and we.  I always thought the war had three parties:  the North Vietnamese on one side and the South Vietnamese and US on the other side.  The story at the War Remnants Museum tells it as much more of an us and them story.  As we walked out, we were greeted by a landmine victim who pegged us almost immediately as Americans, although we told him we were from Singapore.  I’m sure you can guess how that conversation went…

Post Motorcycle Ride. We're on a boat.

That evening, we went on a dinner cruise on the Saigon River.  It was John’s birthday present from me!  Our first taxi couldn’t get us there (we couldn’t communicate well enough to figure out why).  So, desperate to not miss the boat, literally, we found an alternate mode of transportation.  A motorbike.  A Vietnamese guy came up to John and I and offered to take us to our boat.  Hmm… I am wearing a white dress and this man wants me to hop onto a motorcycle behind him AND for John to hop on behind me?  Sounds like an adventure–let’s go!  So, all three of us hop on and we weave through traffic to the dock.    Let me explain something about Saigon.  It has a population of 9 million people and 4 million motorcycles.  I’m sure you can imagine what the traffic is like.  I’ve often heard it described as the worst in people have ever seen.  I definitely believe it.

The dinner cruise was fabulous complete with European and Asian fare, music and even a magician!  John and I completed our evening with a trip to a bar called Insomnia.  The patrons of the bar were all white men with Vietnamese women.  These women were not their wives.  I definitely felt out-of-place.

John bought me a hat! I was so excited!!!!

The next morning, we were up bright and early for a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels just outside the city.  These tunnels were famous hideouts for the Viet Cong (VCs) during the Vietnam War.  These things were so tiny–you can see pictures of John and I actually getting inside of them.  Some of the village people lived in them for years.  I can’t imagine doing that–I would go crazy!  Our introduction to the tunnels was a propaganda video that we weren’t too fond of, but then we got to do a bit of exploring which was really eye opening.

In the tunnel. That thing was tiny!

The VCs set up traps for the American GIs (as in giant camouflaged pits with sharp bamboo sticks in them) and popped out of these crazy tunnels (see picture to the right) to capture any Americans that stayed behind to try to help a wounded GI.  You have to respect the ingenuity of the VCs but it really made me feel for the South Vietnamese and the Americans.

John in the tunnel. Yes, he is standing on the ground.

I can’t imagine being in a jungle with camouflaged tunnels and traps everywhere, not knowing where the enemy will come from next.  The more I walked around and saw what the war really looked like (without the guns, bombs, and bullets even) the more it really made me stop and think.

We also got to crawl through some of the tunnels.  They had one for “big western tourists” as they put it.  It was 100m long–John and I both completed that.  Then, we went down to an original tunnel.

John and I inside one of the "real" passages. Notice the size!

You can’t believe how tiny it was.  Apparently, the VCs were able to bend over at the waist and walk through, but I had to crawl on my hands and knees the tunnel was so small.  We can out dirty, hot and sweaty and with a new respect for that war altogether.  It truly was an amazing and enlightening experience.

On our way back to the city, we stopped at a local farm and learned how to make incense!  We even got to step into a rice paddy.  It was the most gorgeous thing–so peaceful.  I even stuck my hand down into the water (probably not the smartest idea) and pulled out a huge snail!!!  What a gorgeous gorgeous place!!!!

In the beautiful rice paddy

When we got back to Saigon, we met up with our friends Tony and Courtney for dinner.  We went to a Claypot Rice restaurant where we tried some chargrilled claypot rice.  They cook the rice in a claypot and grill it.  Once it’s grilled, the rice on the outside of the riceball becomes hard and keeps it’s shape, so they have to use a hammer and break the claypot off (John loved this part because things were being broken).  They then proceed to through the rice ball across the restaurant and catch it on a plate at the other end before it is served.  After all of this, the results are quite yummy!!!!!  We had a delightful dinner of pepper beef, braised pork, sweet and sour cauliflower and the biggest omelette you have ever seen!  It was great to be able to share a wonderful meal with our friends!

My attempt at photographing the traffic. This picture makes it look tame.

After dinner it was off to the night market!!!  Prices in Vietnam are unbelievable!  I’ve been eyeing a large platter in Singapore for the past year–it’s price is a slightly over US$100.  In Vietnam, we got it for US$25.  I also bought a complete tea set (including tea pot and serving tray) for US$11.00.  We bargained that down from about US$25.00.  The night market was amazing!

We went back to our hotel for last last evening in Saigon.  Early in the morning we were off to Singapore to catch a coach back up to Kuala Lumpur.  Saigon was an AMAZING city–probably my favorite city I have visited since we’ve been over here.  There are barely any food chains (no McDonalds in Vietnam) and all of the food we had was fantastic.  Despite the propaganda, the locals were very friendly to us, despite the fact we’re American.  And, traffic aside, we found it to be a very safe city.

John and I are in KL until Friday when we head back to Singapore for the Formula 1 Race.  Next week, it’s back to KL for John and back to school for me.  I am going back to Indonesia next Friday to teach English at the children’s home, then heading back up to KL to spend the weekend with my sweet husband.  Loving life right now!!!  🙂

Hope you are all well, wherever you are reading this.  Drop us a line!!!  We’d love to hear from you!!!!

**There are so many pictures for this entry, they are in one large picture gallery at the bottom of the entry:).

Three days after Happy Meal left the fair island nation of Singapore, Steve Candeto came to town!  Five days later, the rest of the Candeto and Newkirk clan followed.  Steve, like Happy Meal, arrived very late one evening.  John and I went to the airport to pick him up, brought him back to our cosy little apartment and we all went to bed.  Steve is 6’2″, I think, so you can imagine him on a tiny pull out couch.  He is such a trooper:).

Much to our surprise, Steve woke up and was ready to go at around 9:30 the next morning!  We met John for lunch at Holland Village and then were off to explore Singapore!  Steve saw Chinatown and then we walked to the Central Business District and all the way over City Hall to catch the MRT back home (that walk took us about an hour and a half).  He saw a lot of Singapore that day!  For dinner, we took him to an HDB estate (HDBs are public housing here–about 80% of the population lives in them) to a hawker that serves American food!!!  The place called Botak Jones (Botak means bald in Bahasa Malaysia) serves burgers, french fries, and has some of the best cajun spice you’ll find in southeast Asia;).  After dinner, Steve crashed at around 8:30.  I knew jetlag would get him eventually—haha:).

The next day, John and Steve went off to Indonesia for a “guys” weekend at a beautiful little place called Telunas.  I’ll have to get John to write and entry to tell all about that!  I spent the weekend in Singapore reading Harry Potter!  Once Steve and John returned, we had a glorious meal at a restauarant whose opening we have long been anticipating.  That’s right, world.  Singapore has a Chili’s!!!!!  No longer do we have to drive to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to get some Tex Mex goodness.  I cannot tell you how fabulous those chips and salsa were after so many months without them.  I was dancing in my chair as I ate.  Going to Chili’s was definitely blog worthy.  Ask Steve.

The next day, we prepared for the rest of the Candeto family to get into town!  John went off to work and Steve and I spent a few hours by the pool.  We sat in the shade the entire time and I still managed to get a pretty nasty sunburn.  Fair skin and the equator do not mix.  The sun comes after me even in the shade–it hates me!  That night, we were off to the airport to pick up Robin, Lucy, Matt and Caroline after their long journey across the Pacific!  After a quick snack, we took them to their hotel and we were all off to sleep!

It wasn’t until about 3:00pm the next day that people began to wake up–changing 12 time zones is rough!  Once everyone got up and going, it was dinner time!  John and I took everyone to the hawker centre by the river where we had stingray, pineapple fried rice, chicken wings, satay, and even some chicken rice!  This was the initial introduction to Singaporean food–and everyone seemed to really enjoy it!  Matt even ate some of the sting ray skin!

The next afternoon–we were off to beautiful Phuket, Thailand!  We almost missed our flight.  The girls went to the restroom before the “first call” for boarding and five minutes later, they made the “last call.”  It wasn’t until we caught up with the boys who had run up to the gate carrying all of our purses that they informed us that “last call” lasted about fifteen minutes.  So, in reality, the first call is the last call, in case you ever fly Tiger Airways out of Singapore.  Gotta love it:).  Upon arriving at the Marriott Mai Khao Beach Resort in Phuket, Thailand, we were greeted with beautiful flower necklaces, cool scented towels, and fruit punch!  It was a wonderful beginning to a wonderful trip!  We were then shown to our villa:  a gorgeous two bedroom, two bathroom villa with a pool view and an ocean view if you looked over a few one story villas in front of us.  It really was paradise.

The next few days were spent relaxing by the pool, eating, and bonding as a family.  We hadn’t seen each other in about five months so some catch up time was crucial.  We ate so much wonderful food–we had seafood (fish served with the bones and the head) some amazing Thai dishes, Italian food that was to die for, and even some yummy bakery items and smoothies every morning for breakfast.  Looking through our pictures, I realized that most of them are of us eating!  We even had a night where we played “Battle of the Sexes.”  I am happy to report that the girls team DESTROYED the boys team.  No matter how much they saw the game was rigged–don’t believe them:).  I’m still enjoying the memory of them trying to work out the meaning of the word “exfoliation.”

One day, in Thailand, we took a van to Phuket Town and Patong Beach so that we could see part of the real Thailand.  Phuket Town was interesting–most of what we saw included markets, clothing shops, and a market that smelled like month old fish.  We only stayed there for about 45 minutes.  For lunch, we ventured into Patong Beach where we found a restaurant that served Thai food, American food, and even “Maxican” food.  It was beautiful–we sat outdoors on the beach and ate our delicious meal.  Caroline and I even had drinks in a coconut.  Matt, however, learned the hard way that when a Thai person tells you that something is spicy, it, indeed is spicy!!!!  Following lunch we took a scorching walk down the beach where we saw people parasailing.  Normally, people are harnessed to the sail, put in the water, then pulled into the air by the boat.  No no.  In Patong Beach, they were launching them from the shore with a worker hanging from the sails.  He just jumps around from rope to rope while the parasail is in midair–no harness or anything.  Then, as the person comes into land on the beach, the worker jumps off of the ropes, lands on the beach, then helps the person down.  The precision was incredible, but we couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if that worker were to fall off of the ropes while the parasail was at maximum altitude.  After our walk, we continued through Patong Beach until we found a lovely Margarita bar, had a beverage and cooled off for a bit.  Then back to the hotel and the delightful pub that we found:).

The rest of our days in Thailand were spent reading, relaxing, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings.  It rained on the last two days–so we remained inside, watched movies and enjoyed each other’s company.  Our last morning there was my 24th birthday!  I woke up and got ready then was asked to go into the main room where the whole family had gathered to sing “Happy Birthday” to me and give me birthday gifts!  I was not expecting that–especially not in Thailand!  It was a great beginning to a wonderful birthday!  Once we were back in Singapore, I came back to our apartment and discovered what John had prepared for my birthday (he had to come back to Singapore two days prior for work).  He had flowers on our coffee table, three different kinds of chocolate waiting for me, a picture of himself on the TV holding a sign that said “Happy Birthday”, and Louis Armstrong playing.  Plus, there was a great birthday cake for me to bring to my birthday dinner at ……..Chili’s!!!!!!!!!  Dinner was amazing!  We definitely had chips and salsa and I had the most wonderful salad followed by the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted!!!  Rev even came out to celebrate!!  It was a perfect ending to a fabulous birthday!

The next day was Robin’s birthday!!!  We decided to head to the Bird Park since she loves birds!  When we arrived, we immediately sought refuge in the Penguin Encounter because it was so hot outside!  After that we went to a “Birds ‘n Buddies” show where they showcased different types of birds and their special talents!  They had a bird that could count to ten in English and Chinese and could sing songs in English, Mandarin, and Malay!  He even sang Happy Birthday!!!  After this show, we immediately set off for the “Birds of Prey” show that featured hawks, eagles, seagulls, falcons, etc.  It was actually pretty scary how close the birds would fly overhead.  Robin and I even had a close call that found us ducking down and grasping onto one another!  We certainly didn’t want to be attacked by bird of prey!  The highlight of the show, however, was Lucy volunteering to feed one of the birds!  She took a sling shot, loaded up some raw meat, then shot it straight into the air where one the birds flying overhead caught it!  She did it on the first shot–one of the boys who also volunteered couldn’t do that;).  After the show, we wandered around several of the aviaries and got a closer view of birds.  Steve and I even learned that certain pretty, colorful birds will bite your finger if the opportunity is presented.

That night, we went to Pete’s Place–a favorite Italian restaurant of John and mine.  Since Robin loves Italian food, we thought it would be the perfect place!  The dinner was wonderful and then Robin got to open her presents!  Caroline is great at planning ahead–instead of bringing all of Robin’s presents with her to Singapore, she took pictures using her digital camera, then showed them to her at dinner!!!  We even had a cake with candles to celebrate at the end!  After that, we had had a busy couple of days–everyone was exhausted–it was time for bed!!!

The next few days around Singapore flew by!  We went shopping in Chinatown and in the Arab Quarter.  We even got to explore the Buddhist Temple and the Sultan Mosque.  Lucy got to go in all the brand name stores on Orchard Road (think 5th Ave.) and Caroline got to explore a Japanese food market!  We even had a lovely dinner poolside at the Marriott one night.

One Sunday, their final day in Singapore (which was also our 1 year wedding anniversary:), we all met at church and then after, went to an Indian restaurant for lunch!  After that, we had a leisurely afternoon, then headed to the Night Safari!!!!  The Night Safari is amazing!  We saw a show with animals we had never seen before (except when John and I had seen the show previously) and saw a tribe from Boreno eat fire, juggle fire, and generally do awesome things with fire!  We then took a tram ride around the park to view animals in their “natural habitats.”  They were rowdy that night–zebras were fighting, deer were fighting.  It was crazy!  We got off just long enough to see the flying squirrel (we actually got to see it midair!!!) and the bat enclosure.  I’m still amazed at how close you can get to those bats.  After all of this fun, we had to say goodbye to the Candetos.  Their flight was to leave at 6:30 the next morning–so we had to say goodbye that night.  We will get to see them again very soon though:). We can’t wait!!!

We were truly blessed with a wonderful visit and can’t wait for many more in the future!  Thanks for coming all the way over here!!!  See you all in a few days!!!:)

One more entry to come–my trip to Indonesia and a general life update!!!  Enjoy these photos:)

While most Kentuckians spent the weekend at the track for the Kentucky Derby, John and I decided to experience a race of a different kind–we went to Bangalore, India!  We were hoping to visit Gingie, one of John’s childhood friends who has been living in Bangalore for the last ten months and to go with Rev who is from Bangalore, but he couldn’t get time away from work for our trip.  So our mission objective became one-fold–visit Gingie:).

We left Singapore last Wednesday night after a day at work and teaching English class (which included games involving the ladies tackling each other…more on that in another entry).  We hopped on the MRT with our suitcases and passports in hand and set off on another great adventure.  We arrived at the Budget Terminal whose tag line is “Budget Terminal–See the Difference.”  Hmm….I don’t know if I want to see that difference.  Everything turned out well though–four hours later we touched down in Bangalore.

In India, we were greeted by Indian doctors wearing surgical masks and plastic gloves.  It was time for the “swine flu” check!  After asking us a few questions about our health conditions (do you have a fever, cough, sore throat, etc.) we were allowed to pass and received a “swine flu approved” stamp.  I really wish that stamp was in my passport.  The guy sitting in front of us on the plane, however, had a terrible cough during the entire flight (so bad that I pulled out my own surgical masks for us to put on–hey, I’m not risking quarantine over here) and he got right through the check.  Here’s to hoping it was just a seasonal cough.

Finally, we cleared the swine flu check, customs, immigration, etc. and made our way to the outside of the Bangalore airport to search for Gingie.  All of a sudden, we saw this white face jumping up and down among a sea of darker Indian faces–she was not hard to spot.  After some big hugs (this is kind of a big deal, guys and girls are supposed to have minimal contact in public), we were off to Gingie’s apartment where we ate delicious pumpkin bread, met one of her two roomates and quickly fell asleep. We needed our beauty rest for our big adventure!

John and I woke pretty early the next morning–India time is 2.5 hours behind Singapore, so, really we woke at 11am.  It just happened to be earlier in India!  Then, we were off to meet Gingie at work–we walked.  This was my first real taste of the streets of Bangalore.  Some of the roads were made of dirt, there was trash lining the sides of the street, stray dogs were everywhere, and cows were roaming around randomly.  Although my description doesn’t indicate it, India is honestly one of the most captivating countries I’ve ever experienced.  We had to cross one of the main roads in Bangalore (Outer Ring Road), which amounted to a dead sprint across a busy highway.  At least the first time.  Luckily, we made it without incident.

Once we met Gingie at work, we took off downtown in what is called an “Auto” short for Auto Rickshaw.  These are basically motorized tricycles with a cab on the back built to hold two and a half adults.  Since we are three adults, it made it quite snug.  I was grateful for the snug fit though after realizing exactly how the Auto driver was going to drive (keep in mind, these things don’t have seatbelts.)  Riding in these things is like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.  You never know which direction you’re going to go or how close that car is going to come, but somehow, you make it to the end.  We spent the first day shopping and dining.  That evening, we went to the movies where they played the Indian National Anthem and had an intermission (for a 90 minute movie) with Bollywood music.  It was fabulous:).

After an exhausting first day (no matter what you do in India, with all of the walking, chaos of the Autos, and the overwhelming of the senses you get tired), we woke up pretty late for day two.  We hired a driver for the day (this costs only around US$ 25.00) and headed about 70 km from Bangalore to Nandi Hills–a very tall cliff from which a Sultan supposedly dropped his enemies.  We drove through Bangalore, then through some villages just outside of town where the cutest kids in the world were selling grapes on the side of the road.  Too bad we couldn’t eat them (we can only eat fruits that can be peeled or fruits that are cooked.)  We finally wound our way up the side of the mountain and got to Nandi Hills.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the wild monkeys–500 of which live in a small space upon the top of this mountain.  We toured the site and stopped to admire the gorgeous view before going on to check out the Hindu Temple and having lunch.

John admiring the view

Lunch time--our tour guide guarded against monkeys

After our nice lunch, we decided to explore the site a bit more.  Our tour guide (who ripped us off–completely–westerners bargaining in India have no chance) kept the monkeys away with his monkey stick and really scary hissing noises while we ate.  The monkeys, if left alone, will actually “attack” humans.  Well, they only attack humans with food.  We saw a three year old boy who has happily eating an ice cream cone until a monkey ran up to him (his mother and older sister abandoned him at this point) and hit him on the hand until the monkey got the ice cream.  The monkey proceeded to run to the top of the temple and devour the ice cream.  Hilarious.  The monkeys also would steal bottles of soft drinks and figure out how to manipulate the packaging so they could get to the contents.  We also saw baby monkeys with their families.  The view was gorgeous, but the monkeys were the most entertaining part:).

Holy Ice Cream?

On top of the world!

That night, we went to a movie night at a friend of Gingie’s home and had Papa John’s pizza.  We don’t have that in Singapore–oh how we’ve missed Papa John’s.  Just FYI–it was started in Kentucky, so I figured it was worth mentioning:).

We had been told by various people that India is a country of extremes.  Our third day in Bangalore illustrated this.  We spent the morning at “City Market,” the local market for spices, flowers, fruits, veggies, and other assorted everyday items.  This place was incredible–definitely overwhelming to all of the sense.  The colors were bright and beautiful, the market was loud and bustling with life, it smelled of flowers and incense, it was hot and crowded, and there seemed to be lots of yummy foods.  It is amazing how alive you feel in the middle of all of that activity, yet how out of place you can feel (my white skin seemed glow in the dark).  John and I both can honestly say we’ve never been anywhere quite like it.  Many of the flowers you see are made into strings of flowers to be offered to Hindu Gods and many of the foods are purchased for the same reasons.  The children of the marketplace were anxious to see us “westerners” walking through.  We stood out–I can tell you that much.  We also got to see (and smell) many of the Indian spices that the European explorers were after so many years ago.  I can see why they made the trip!

Here is a video (on YouTube) of our journey through the market.  This was shot on the outside looking at all of the fruit and veggie vendors.

Later that day, we went to the Leela, a five-star hotel in Bangalore.  It was very similar to Las Vegas hotels sans casinos.  It had a lovely shopping mall, restaurants, and was definitely how I envisioned “luxury India.”  Check out the juxtaposition of these two photos.  The Land of Extremes is really quite amazing.

The busy flower section of City Market

The Leela--what a difference

That night, we had the honor of having dinner with Rev’s parents.  Sadly, Revie couldn’t get time off from his job here in Singapore to come to Bangalore with us.  I guess we’ll just have to go back and do some more exploring with him:).  Rev’s parents have a lovely home where we gathered for drinks and delicious appetizers including paneer–Indian cheese–and potato cakes with some delicious corriander dipping sauce.  She also set out ketchup in case we wanted an “American version.”  After a bit of catching up and saying “hi” to Rev’s room per Rev’s request, we were off to dinner at a delicious restaurant!  There we had Black Dal (very similar to Mexican black beans) and some delcious mutton, chicken, fish, and nan.  The meal was fantastic–the best we had in India!  Then, Mr. Singh taught us how to play Cricket (the Indian National League was on the TV at the restaurant).  We had a wonderful evening with them–we can see why Rev is so amazing:).

The next morning came very early and we were off to church.  We rode to church with the pastor of Bangalore Presbyterian–Paul Billy, the man who hosted the trip to India John and Gingie went on in 2006.  We went to his church on the second story of a shop house and met lots of wonderful people over tea after the service was over.  Then, we went for a lunch of butter chicken.  We had entertainment in the car that you really must see.  Here are videos of “Amish Paradise” and “The Twelve Days of Indian Christmas.”  Enjoy–they are hilarious!!!!

After lunch, we went to a “drop-in” centre for train station children.  Train station children are children who live on the train tracks near the main train station of Bangalore.  During the day, they can come to the centre and receive meals, schooling, and mentoring.  Eventually, if they ask, they can even stay at the centre.  John, Gingie, and I went to play games with these precious boys.  We played duck duck goose, tag, and even some board games.  Soon, it was time for us to leave and pack up our things to come back to Singapore.

The boys

Goodbye, India!!!!

Incredible India was beyond incredible.  All within a few days and a few square kilometers, I saw the lap of luxury and absolute poverty.  I saw cows wandering the streets and eating trash and ten year old girls with babies on their hips in the middle of traffic begging passing cars for a spare rupee.  I smelled the putrid odor of rotten trash on the street, and breathed in the delicious aroma of Indian spices.  India is one of the most captivating places I’ve ever been.  The people were warm and friendly, the food was delicious, and the weather was wonderful!!!

In a lot of ways, I’m still processing everything that I saw on our trip–sorry if this entry seems kind of boring as a result.  Words can’t describe the place–the harder I try to describe our experience, the fewer words I can find to capture what we saw and what we felt.  Look at our pictures and videos–I think they’re the most telling.  I LOVE India and can’t wait to go back.  Maybe Rev can come next time:)

Check on my facebook profile for more pictures from our trip (including monkey photos).  John is off to Indonesia for the weekend on a church retreat.  Hopefully, he’ll write an entry on his adventure once he returns.  Who knows what I’ll get into this weekend in Singapore.

Until next time, we miss you all.  We’ll be back in the states in a little over two months:).  Hope to see you then!!!

Happy Chinese New Year!  Gong xi fa cai!

We’re back!  And our cruise was wonderful!!!  The food was wonderful (I didn’t have a bit of rice on the boat!!!), the people were wonderful, and the world around here is beyond beautiful.  We started off last Friday with a trip to John’s office Chinese New Year Party.  We got observe the lion dance and participate in Lou Hei–a traditional Chinese New Year dish that involves mixing lots of ingredients with chopsticks then using the chopsticks to lift the mixture as high out of the bowl as you can.  The higher you lift/throw the mixture, the more prosperous you will be in the new year.  So, of course, it was a contest to see who could throw it the highest.  We did this again on again on the cruise ship–hopefully, we’ll be doubly properous during the Year of the Ox!  After this we watched the lion dance through the office.  The lion is a traditional Chinese costume with two acrobats underneath–one is the body, the other is the head.  The longer the lion’s body, the more propserity the lion will ensure for your home/office.  The lion roamed through all of the office hallways to bless it with propserity for the new year.  After these festivities–we were off for the cruise!!!!

We took a Royal Caribbean Cruise from Singapore and headed to Port Kelang, Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand before coming back to lovely Singapore.  We took off from Singapore on Friday evening and enjoyed a delicious steak dinner (you can’t get large quanities of meat here unless you go to expensive, western restaurants, so this was a treat!) and then went to their traditional opening show (Furman people who went on our Spring Break Cruise–you know what I’m talking about!).  Then–off to bed–it had been a long day.

We woke up the next morning in Malaysia.  That’s the great thing about cruises–you go to sleep in one country and wake up in another!  Port Kelang is Kuala Lumpur (KL)’s ocean port about 45 kilmeters from the city.  We went to KL a couple of months ago and were a little hesitant to pay the US$70 cab fare to get there and back–especially when there was so much to do on and around the ship!  We asked our friend Roxana (she worked at the pizza stand on the ship) what we should do in Port Kelang.  She told us of hug coconut shakes at the local hawker centre, so off the ship we went to get the cocunut shake.  Check out how big this thing is–and for only US$2!  *The pictures are at the end in a gallery…for some reason, that’s how I had to do it for this entry…

Then, we got back on the ship and headed out to Thailand.  Crusing through the Straits of Malacca is nothing like cruising in the Caribbean.  The Straits of Malacca is the busiest sea route in the world, so, instead of seeing nothing but ocean, we saw hundreds of ships.  Cargo ships, fishing ships, even oil tankers all along the route.  And, we also saw hundreds of small Malaysian desert islands all that look like they’re straight out of “Robinson Crusoe.”  Other than the oil tankers, it looked like paradise.

The next day, we arrived in Phuket, Thailand and the most beautiful beach either of us has ever seen.  We landed on a beach called “Patong Beach,” the self-proclaimed Las Vegas of Phuket, but even the cheap neon hotels couldn’t ruin how beautiful this beach was.  It was breath-taking.  After going ashore, we were hastled by at least ten different cab drivers (none of whom drove licensed cabs, by the way…watch out for that) offering to show us “honeymooners…haha” around for 800 Thai Baht (around US$20) for the day.  Anywhere we go, people assume we’re honeymooners.  I guess that’s a good thing:)  After politely declining, we began to explore the beach with our camera.  What we saw was amazing–hotels and tourists on the beach, but just upstream, people living in poverty, sleeping in hammocks suspended above the water and in houses on stilts.  We even saw a woman with a fire on the beach, trying to cook something we assume.  We saw a fisherman wading in the water with his net trying to get something to eat for the day.  All of this within mere meters of the beach bars.  Amazing.

John and I then set off to explore the community of Patong Beach.  After grabbing a refreshing strawberry smoothie at a thatch roof “Aussie Beach Bar” we took to the streets.  We were walking along, declining Thai massages (there are about a dozen young girls sitting at the front of every massage parlor trying to get patrons–I don’t think they were trying to get ME to go in;), when we looked up and noticed the mass of powerlines.  Take a look at this picture–it’s crazy!

We then went to a market where we found some beautiful Thai silk and a painting on a piece of Mulberry paper.  This market was airconditioned–my kind of place in the South Pacific!  Then, the highlight of our trip….

…we had dinner with Mr. Pete Grivetti!  Yes, Pete who hasn’t been back to the States in more than a year and a half.  He hasn’t changed a bit–it was so great to see him!!!  We went to a fabulous dinner (after a Thai waitress offered to lay across the road to stop traffic so we could come into her restaurant) and had some traditional Thai cuisine.  I had my Pad Thai (much better than Thaicoon–I promise!), John and a green curry (spicy, but good), and Pete had some other kind of spicy rice dish, the name of which I forgot.  We caught up for a while then wandered back to our ship because we had to set sail!  We had far too little time with Pete, but it was so good to see him:)

Our day in Phuket was also Chinese New Years Eve so we arrived back onto the ship to a big party.  We had another big dinner (I don’t think either of us have been that full in a long time) and then went to the ships main area for the big balloon drop!  It was midnight, the balloons dropped, and all of a sudden, it sounds like gunshots all around us.  Apparently, in Chinese culture, when balloons drop at midnight, it’s good luck to pop them–all of them you can get your hands on.  So, imagine if you can, it’s midnight, a few hundred Chinese people are diving all over the center atrium of the ship to grab ballons and trying to pop them.  John and I are cracking up in the corner.  It was a pretty great sight:)

Our last day was a day at sea, full of food, an art auction (we learned a lot!), and some time reading by the pool.  It was a very relaxing way to spend the Chinese New Year.  The next morning, sadly, we returned to a rainy Singapore.  Tuesday was also a Public Holiday (the CNY celebration lasts for two weeks!), so most everything was closed.  It was a very different sight in such a bustling city.

The Cruise was amazing although not the same without our Cruise Director (Sharkey) and the crew from our last cruise.  We miss you guys so much.

More adventures to come soon!!!

In the middle of last week, John and I decided to pay a last minute to visit Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  KL is the capital city of Malaysia and is about a five hour bus ride from Singapore.  Our goal was to have been in five countries this year and Malaysia makes five:)  Just in time for December!  Even though our trip was last minute, we had quite the adventure…

…our trip started out with us taking a late bus from Singapore slated to arrive in KL in the middle of the night.  This part of the trip was fairly uneventful and actually quite nice–it was a great chance to sleep on the way.  We were greeted in KL not at a bus stop, as we anticipated, but, instead in the middle of the street by a barage of cab drivers all with umbrellas.  They were pressing so hard to get to the door of the bus, that a few of the umbrellas (and those holding them) seemed to be hit by the bus!  After some haggling in the rain, we finally found a cab to take us to our hotel.

The hotel was fabulous…very clean and the staff was extremely courteous.  It reminded me of being back in the southeastern US!  Our room even came equiped with instructions on how to use the toilet.  Check them out:)

Don't forget to read the instructions:)

The next morning, we woke up and decided to head to the Batu Caves, a limestone cave series about 13 km from KL that serves as a series of Hindu temples that honor Lord Murugan, a Hindu deity.  In fact, the world’s largest statue of Murugan guards the cave at 42 m tall.  It is quite the sight!  We also got some great videos.  They are of some of the rituals we were lucky enough to catch.  One of the videos documents the musicians throughout the ceremony and the other, a Hindu priest (we presume) “feeding” the spear, what we believe is a representation of the God.  If you notice, the statue is holding the same spear.

Me with my coconut in front of the God.

John at the bottom of the 272 steps leading to the caves!

The videos of the Hindu rituals, John talking to a duck (it quacked back), John chasing a chicken, a monkey trying to escape from his cage, and a hilarious bar band….will be posted on Facebook until I figure out how to post them on the blog:)

After leaving the cave, we decided to check out “Cave Villa,” a touristy attraction conveniently located next to the caves.  We didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into, but, it was cheap and we thought it would make a good story, so, of course we went.  Our first experience here was feeding the fish.  (We have the video of this). These Koi are much like carp back in the US…they will swim on top of each other (and sometimes out of the water) to get the food they want.  And, they are hilarious to watch.  Check out our video on Facebook:)  Next, we walked into a “Cave of Virtues” which consisted of cave paintings illustrating Hindu proverbs, only half of which had English explanations next to them.  The rest were in Tamil (which, surprise, neither of us speak:)  It was fun trying to figure out exactly what they were trying to illustrate though.  John and I can be very creative.

At the end of this cave was the entrance to another section of the cavern containing a reptile exhibit with over 400 species of frogs, lizards, turtles, and, yes, snakes.  If you know me well, you know that I have an immense fear of snakes.  Or should I say, had?  I come by it honestly, my mother shares the same thoughts.  So, you can imagine my reaction when our sweet Malay tour guide informed us that he had the top four poisonous snakes in the world in his collection.  Keep in mind we’re in the middle of a cave during all of this.  John and I spent some time wandering around the exhibit, admiring the animals (I admired the turtles, mostly), so the guy offered to let us hold some.  Which animal do you think he offered?  Yes, a snake.  As soon as he pulled the Rainbow Soil Snake from it’s home, I took off running towards the tortoises.  I wanted nothing to do with it.  He assured me it was a very gentle, lazy snake and handed it to John.  I did manage to take a few pictures of John with the snake and was relived when the snake was back in its keeper’s hands.  Then, he started to walk toward me and asked me to touch it.  Mustering up all of my courage (I knew this was a fear I needed to conquer) I stuck out my finger and touched it’s slimy body.  Taking a deep breath, I thought I had done well for the day.  Then, the man told me to hold it and John would take my picture.  My heart started racing and I started imagining all of the nightmares I’ve had about snakes over the years.  Then, I decided to take it.  Here is proof:

Mom, you'll never believe this.

Please notice this smile.  I owe this to twelve years of cheerleading…I can smile through anything.  After holding the snake for what felt like an eternity, the man finally took him back.  I thought it was over.  Oh, no.  The man was so excited that I conquered my fear and that John and I held his animals that he wanted us to hold his pythons.  “Don’t worry,”  he said, “they’re only babies.”  Great.  A baby snake.  We walked to the front of the cave where he found a rubbermaid box.  He reached in and pulled out two pythons.  One for each of us.  John and I love to match–you know that.  But, this is a bit extreme.  You know if I’m saying that, it’s VERY EXTREME:)

Matching snakes. How sweet.

John and our friend eating the pythons...

Yes, I put a snake around my neck. I still prefer my pearls:)

After our reptile adventure, we went back to the hotel and had a lovely swim.  I was desperate to get the snake off of me:)  That evening, for dinner, we went to a Japanese buffet–all you can eat Sushi and Japanese Hibatchi type food.  We got to eat all of this with a beautiful nighttime view of the Petronas Towers (pictures later on).  It was incredible and we were stuffed.  But, we decided to stop at the hotel bar and check out the band.  This band consisted of four scantily clad girls singing and dancing and one random middle-aged guy in the back with a laptop, keyboard, and a guitar.  We have a video of them singing the Umbrella-ella-ella song.  It’s pretty incredible–check it out on Facebook.  After meeting a random guy from Ireland at the bar and enjoying some good pop music, we retired for the evening…exhausted.

End of day 1.  After a day like this, what could day two possibly have in store?  Plenty.

We woke up the next morning and took off to the Petronas Towers–the tallest twin structures in the world!  They really are spectacular.  We had to pause a few moments to get some pictures.

John with the towers.

On our way to see the towers, we passed a movie theatre and saw advertisements for “Bolt.”  We’ve been waiting for “Bolt” for a long time and know it’s already out in the States, but in Singapore, it doesn’t come out until this Thursday.  And, to top it all off, it’s coming out in 3D!!!!!  We were thrilled to find out it was already out in KL.  So, we got tickets to go see it in Malaysia:)  The theatre was full of small children screaming and laughing at the silly hamster, dog, and cat but it was really cute.  Also, we wanted to comment on the price of movie food in Malaysia.  We bought a large caramel popcorn (they don’t have regular, two bottles of water, a lemon tea, and some Cadbury chocolates for US$4.50 total.  We were amazed!  A large popcorn alone in the states would cost you more than that.  We were so amazed by the prices we decided in the theatre to include them in our blog.

Then, our culinary highlight of the trip.  We left the movie theatre and decided we wanted to grab a bite to eat.  We scanned the landscape and saw a familiar brand across the mall–it was a Chili’s!  We had been craving Chili’s chips and salsa and food since about September and were so excited to finally find one!  (Matt Kuhn and Elizabeth, you would be proud!).  So, we gorged ourselves and then decided to head out to the Central Market–a local market that sells Malay handicrafts and items imported from all over Southeast Asia.

He did not want to take this picture:)

Before we left the nice clean mall for a market, we headed to the restroom.  Normally, I wouldn’t include this in a blog entry, but when one receives a bruise while in the restroom, it is worthy of noting.  Evident from the first pictures of this entry, “western toilets” as I now call them are not always the norm over here.  Often, the toilet is just a fancy hole in the ground.  This seems to be particularly popular in Malaysia.  We were in the nicest mall in town and this was the restroom situation.  Well, I went into the stall and everything was fairly uneventful until I started to leave.  The hole is usually raised by two steps from normal ground level.  As you can imagine, the stairs are fairly slippery.  I had on Rainbows (FU people, you know the traction situation on Rainbows–it’s not good!).  As I stepped on the stair, my feet slid out from underneath me and I landed with my backside on the stair.  No worries–I didn’t land in anything gross!  My pride was hurt more than anything else.  I got up and walked out of the bathroom as if nothing had happened.  A few hours later, I noticed a pain on the back of my upper thigh.  I now have a beautiful purple bruise in the shape of a stair (a straight line) across the back of my leg.  It’s a great souvenir from KL.  As soon as I walked out of the bathroom, I doubled over and started laughing.  Once I told John the story, we were both cracking up.  Needless to say, I’ll be more careful next time!

Now, on to the Central Market!  Our cab driver there called himself a “naughty old man cab driver.”  This story can’t be told on the blog (the conversation the cab driver had was a little graphic).  If you’re over 18 and want to know the story, I’ll tell you.  Just ask about the cab driver saying “boom boom.” This story is HILARIOUS.

The Central Market was closing down by the time we got there.  We had just enough time to pick up some Christmas presents and watch a giant rat run from a store front into a restaurant.  We didn’t eat there…no worries:)

On our way to catch the bus back to Singapore we caught another beautiful view of the towers…this time at night.  Check them out!

At night!

We caught a bus back that was like an airplane, but on the ground.  We had an meal, drink options, and wonderful seats that reclined most of the way back.  We didn’t arrive back in Singapore until about 4am–so this was quite nice!  Especially since today is a work day!!!

That’s it for our KL adventure!  We’re heading back to Malaysia next weekend for a beach weekend, so we’ll be sure to update you on our adventures there!!! Have a wonderful beginning of December!!!

Many apologies for the lack of recent entries.

Last Wednesday was the holiday Hari Raya–the Malay New Year.  Since it’s a public holiday in Singapore–and no one works on public holidays–John and I decided to go on an adventure.  To Indonesia.

I met John at the Singapore cruise center with one small black suitcase and of course, my polka dot tote bag.  We were ready for action.  You can see Indonesia off the southern coast of Singapore, so it’s not a distant journey.  In fact, it only took us one hour by ferry to get there.  Our trip was very easy.  We got off the fairy, immediately caught a cab, and went to our hotel.  The Novotel Batam.  As we approached the hotel, we were stopped by the security guards.  They checked in the trunk of the car and then used a mirror at the end of a long pole to check underneath the car.  I thought they were looking for stow away people (how that would have worked, I’m not quite sure).  John later informed me they were checking for bombs.  His suspicions were confirmed when we had to pass through a metal detector to enter the hotel.  At least we knew we were safe. We were in for the night.

The next morning, we woke up and discovered that the restaurant was serving a buffet breakfast–complete with Western dishes!  We hadn’t had a western breakfast since we moved to Asia–we were thrilled!  There were eggs, pancakes, donuts–all things we didn’t realize we love until we didn’t have them!

After breakfast, we were off to explore the town.  First, we walked to  Harbourbay Centre, what was supposedly a busy tourist hub.  When we arrived, everything was closed for the holiday.  We were anticipating lots of delicous seafood (my cab driver on the way to the cruise centre in Singapore had recommended it), but came up empty handed.  Instead, we stood at the edge of the dock and looked out over the water.  The amount of pollution was unbelieveable.  The rocky shore was peppered with cans, wrappers, and plastic bags.  It looked nothing like postcard perfect southest Asia.  We then looked up and saw a very interesting sight–very nice houses in the background, with poverty in their front yards.  It was a stark contrast.  John and I couldn’t help but want to solve all of the world’s problems right then and there.  This was a moment I’ll never forget.  Moments like these make me thankful we’ve made this journey to Asia.

After taking in the scene, we looked to the left and saw an incredible structure–a cruise ship on land.  Actually, it was a hotel designed to look like a cruise ship.  It was so cool, we decided to have lunch there.

After lunch, we went to the Nagoya Hill Shopping Centre (we thought of you Caroline and Matt!)  Nagoya is a Japanese name that was given to the area when the Japanese took it over during the Second World War.  The shopping centre was very different the malls in Singapore.  Pirated purses, electronics, and other items were everywhere.  In fact, I found a “Burberry” purse that was priced at 500,000 rupiahs (about 50 US dollars).  Keep in mind, all of the prices are extremely negociable.  John was comparing this mall to some of the malls he had visited in China and assured me that the salespeople would claim the bags were real.  So, of course, he tested them.  When he asked the sales lady if they were real, she laughed in his face and, before giving him an answer, went to tell her friend who promptly came up to John and began laughing also.  You could see the “stupid American” look in their eyes.  It was HILARIOUS!!!!  John was a bit defeated in his quest but glad that the sales people were honest.

We had a very interesting and educational experience during our twenty-four hours in Indonesia.  I have never felt so white in my entire life.  Nor, have I ever been the ONLY white person in an entire mall (with the exception of John).  People were saying hello to us, just to speak to us.  One kid even pointed to us and said, “Look Mom!  White people!”  Almost as surprising was how willing they were to be our “taxi service.”  We were warned by the Customs Officials at the ferry centre not to get into any cars but taxis.  I was thinking to myself…uh…ok…it’s like the whole “don’t talk to strangers” bit you get in the first grade.  Boy, was I wrong.  As we walked down the sidewalk, at least half of the cars had drivers hanging out the window to see if we wanted rides and the passengers already had the back doors open.  It was quite the sight.  Also, about half of the vehicles on the road with motorcycles.  Many of them with four people.  Including two children without helmets.  You know how I feel about that one.

I’ll leave you for the day with one final anecdote–our trip back to Singapore.  We boarded the ferry at the ferry centre as per usual.  We were on the upperdeck, enjoying the night view of the Singapore skyline and the wonderful ocean breeze.  All of a sudden, we saw blue lights behind us.  Yes, our ferry got pulled over by the Singapore Ocean Police.  The engines suddenly cut off and the police boat docked with ours.  On came two policemen who forced their way into the Captains’ quarters.  We had no idea what they were looking for or when we would finally get back underway.  The ocean was dark and all we could see were the lights of the city in the distance and a few cargo ships anchored at sea.  More police came on and let themselves into the front room of the boat.  What could they be looking for?  In Singapore, the penalty for drug trafficking is death, so this could have been a pretty intense search and seizure.  After about ten minutes, the blue lights turned off and we were on our way back to the city.  The police boat left without incident.  It was an interesting end to an interesting trip.

We can’t wait to get back to Indonesia and hopefully try out some of the beaches it’s famous for.  But, Batam was a great experience.  We wouldn’t trade it for the world.

More adventures coming soon!