Summertime

Alan asked me one night when I was home why I didn't blog much...or at all...when I'm home.  It isn't that I don't do lots of fun and interesting things...it is more that I am so busy enjoying myself that I don't find time during the day to blog.

Outside of spending time with family and friends, one of my favorite parts about being in the US last month was enjoying all of the fabulous and fresh summer fruits and veggies.  I just don't get those here because Singapore is a small island and land is a commodity which means there isn't much of it left for farming.  We get tons of fresh fruit and vegetables here...but it just isn't the same as buying them from the farmer's market.

My first day back in NC last month Alan took me to the NC State Farmer's Market.  Everything looked so pretty and smelled so delicious...and I was lucky enough that peaches were still in season...

I ate tons of corn on the cob, peaches, blueberries, summer squash, tomatoes...I just couldn't get enough of it all. 

I know that summer is nearing an end in the US and that a lot of crops are just about finished.  However, if you have a local farmer's market near you go down and check out what they have...buy something and enjoy it a little bit for me.  And when it gets to be September/October you'd better get yourself to an apple orchard...don't make me come back there...

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15/52

Week 15 of 52
Uluwatu Temple
Bali, Indonesia

This past weekend we went with our friends to Bali.  We stayed in an amazing villa and spent a good amount of time relaxing but we also got out and saw a bit of the island.  This little guy was one of many monkeys at the Uluwatu Temple which was one of our last stops.  They were cute little creatures but are mean and sneaky little buggers.  We weren't allowed to wear sunglasses into the temple because apparently these guys will snatch them from you.  While we were there we saw one of them snatch a flip flop from a lady...ugh!

We stayed at Villa Jerami in the Seminyak area...if you ever go to Bali, I would highly recommend this place...

(picture courtesy of Alan)
As you can see, the villas have private pools and outdoor living rooms...it was nice to have our own little piece of paradise...

As amazing as the villa was we did manage to get out of it and were able to see some of the interesting bits of Bali.

We toured a Bali Hindu temple...

We had lunch on the top of a volcano...

We saw rice terraces...

and we had a beer on the beach...

It was a fun weekend and we enjoyed seeing both the sights and hanging out with friends.

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14/52

14/52
Random alley
Chinatown, Singapore

Okay, okay...I know it has been 4+ weeks since I last blogged.  I wish I had some super funky story to tell all of you but I don't.  Instead, I was busy hanging out with some of my very favorite people in the US.  More on what I did on my little blogging vacation later... 

Alan and some of our good friends, Angie & Paul are in Singapore visiting me right now so we spent yesterday wandering around the city.  We hit Chinatown and went down a street I had not been down previously and came across this great wall.  This is one of the reasons that I love to go exploring and especially without a plan...I mean I am all about a plan...but sometimes the best things you come across are those that you didn't even know you were looking for.

I have no idea what is behind that door but I love whoever it was that made it look so pretty. In my mind there some nice lady with an apron standing just behind those shutters waiting to open them and hand me a delicious apple pie.  And the only thing that would make this picture even better would be if a cat was hanging out on the steps...

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13/52

Week 13 of 52
Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
USA

There is nothing like landing in the US and seeing blue skies, and sunshine, and the Midwest, and lots of Americans, and diet Mt. Dew, and pizza, and Mexican food, and watching a Coast Guard ship leave Navy Pier...

I arrived in Chicago at about 2:00 pm local time.  It was an uneventful trip which means it was a good trip.  I flew from Singapore to Hong Kong and then direct to Chicago.  It was a long trip but I had great flight attendants and was lucky enough to be in business class.  Here's a shot of my first view of the US...

I'm not sure exactly where this was because I took this picture in between sleeps...

After I got to the hotel and unpacked and cleaned up a bit I decided to head down to Navy Pier to get outside for a bit and enjoy the nice weather.

It was quite busy down at Navy Pier...quite a change from when Alan and I were there in March.  The weather was certainly nicer and this time I got to see a Coast Guard ship from Mackinac undock and head back out, presumably to head back Up North...

I cannot tell you how great it was to come back to the US and see a military ship heading back out and have all of the people...I mean every...single...person...stop and watch and applaud as they set back out.  I haven't seen that kind of patriotism in awhile and it makes me proud to be an American and glad to be back on US soil for a bit.

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12/52 - a little late

Week 12 of 52
View from my hotel room
Berjaya Hotel
Langkawi, Malaysia

This past weekend I went to Langkawi, Malaysia for a birthday weekend with a friend.  We take a trip each year and we typically like to do some exploring but we have both been very busy with work this year so opted for a quieter weekend this time.  If you are interested in a quick trip from Singapore that will bring you pretty scenery and some much needed relaxation I recommend the Berjaya Hotel.

We didn't leave the hotel grounds the entire weekend.  It is a sprawling property that has done a nice job of incorporating the hotel into the landscape instead of mowing everything down and starting over.

We had a funny time on Friday night when we checked in.  It took us three rooms to get to one that had two beds and we could get into but it ultimately turned out to be very nice.  We stayed in the rain forest but with a nice view of the Andaman Sea.  Instead of a large building with all of the rooms in it like most hotels they have chalets.  Most of them are single buildings either in the rain forest or on the sea.  Ours had four rooms in the building but we never heard anybody else.

Our Saturday consisted of the following...
-sleep in...
-breakfast...
-hang out by the pool...

-enjoy a fruity drink at the swim-up bar...

 -see a Dusky Leaf Monkey up close for the first time...

This little guy kept turning his head at the exact moment I would hit my shutter button...finally got him though...

-Enjoyed a relaxing massage at the spa...
-Sat on the balcony and had a glass of wine to toast my friend on her birthday...
-Watch the sunset while enjoying an amazing Thai dinner...

 Sunday was a similar day except we had to fly home...

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In my bag

There are a few things that I never leave home without here in Singapore.  If you ever visit Singers or Asia for that matter you may want to include a few of these in your bag as well...

#1 - Wallet
Seems pretty obvious...

#2 - Passport & green card
First, the card that permits me to be in the country for longer than 30 days is indeed green.  I'm supposed to have it with me at all times.  And there are a lot of things here in Singapore that require your passport so I typically have mine with me.

#3 - Cash
Unlike the US where you can pay for just about everything with a credit card or debit card (I rarely have cash when I am home) here in Singers you really need to have cash.  Most of the places like grocery stores, pharmacies, etc accept credit cards but most people tend to pay with cash. 

#4 - Mobile phone
Very important for keeping in touch...and for checking the bus arrivals...and calling taxis...

#5 - Camera
I almost always have one of my cameras in my bag.  If there is one thing I have learned from being here is that you never ever know what you might come across and should always have a camera on the ready.

#6 - Handkerchief
I know this is hard to see but is standard white handkerchief.  It is always hot, hot, hot out and it is good to have something to wipe the sweat off of your brow.

#7 - Mass Transit Card & apartment building key card
Mass transit card is good for travel on bus, MRT, and in some taxis.  The apartment building key card is critical to get myself into my building.

#8 - Keys
House key and mailbox key.

#9 - Kleenex
The hawker centers here don't give out napkins so you always need to have tissues.

#10 - Umbrella
Something that you only get caught without once and you'll never forget it again...because no matter what happens if you forget your umbrella a downpour will occur.

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Quiet time

All is quiet at my house again...AliG has gone back home.  It was nice having a kitty in the house and I do miss having another creature around here...but...it is also nice to not get attacked when walking down the hallway.  One last fun picture of him...

And...I was out for a walk yesterday afternoon and thankfully had my camera with me so I could catch a picture of this cute ginger cat...

Hope everybody has a great 4th of July today!

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