What do you do in Singapore?

I know everyone's been dying to know, what the eff do you DO in Singapore when it's a random Saturday and you're not vacationing off this little island and you've seen the sights.... Well, I'm sure you'll be shocked, but you join the Singaporean herd and SHOP! But you don't just go the mall, wander around for an hour or two; no, no, no- you go down to the MRT station pack yourself (and your stuff) into a shiny metal tube filled with hundreds of your best friends and zip off to the gloriously sterile, air-conditioned, horrendously packed MALL. There's many to choose from and if you're lucky you'll even be able to walk between them without the need to actually go outside and experience 'fresh air'. You'll also get the wonderful experience of negotiating throngs of slow walking people with apparently no sense of each other or where they are going; perfect Brownian motion on a macro scale.

It doesn't end here, after you've spent a good few hours wandering for something that no one seems to carry (cheap plastic chaise lounges - because that would mean that you would be sitting outside and why in god's name would you want to do that???), you get back on the aforementioned metal tube and zip off to mall #3 or maybe it's #4, and begin the slog through the masses again - and since it's Singapore we've not had to actually leave an air-conditioned space to do this. We finally make it to the Giant Hypermarket - yes, it's beyond Super, it's HYPER! And yes they have something that will sort of work, not a chaise lounge and not a chair, sort of an odd mix between the two - it'll have to work- we're both tired, hungry, annoyed and ready for a nice relaxing trip away from people (I hear a beach calling my name)- thankfully we found a brewery that has a very decent IPA, and by the time I had finished that I was back in my happy place and all was again right with the world. -Dave

Realize it's been a bit since our last post...

... overall the last few weeks have been filled with the normalcies of life: work + food + sleeping + daily tasks. Yes, it's not a 'vacation' simply because you're on the other side of the world :) For most part, it's the same 'ol thing, interspersed with interesting "non-Seattle" moments.

A few of the highlights include:

• A piece of home via a visit from our friends Greg & Rachel. Good sports who dealt with the monsoon-ing, embraced the Mustafa shopping center, and were generally up for anything we/Singapore threw their way. And, they delivered duty-free liquor to our door ;)
• A harbor cruise, on a beautiful sunny day, with only good company (see 'above') and a questionable boat.
  
• Seeing the entire population of Singapore out at 10pm on Sunday night to watch a Liverpool/ManU soccer game. Restaurants & hawker centers on every block, setting up big screens, people crowded around. Expats were in the minority. Would give the George & Dragon a run for it's $$.
  
• A Northwest moment, renting bikes to ride around Pulau Ubin Island a stone's throw away from Singapore. AND getting back to the mainland 3 min. before a 3 hour rain shower like I've never seen.
  
• Hearing of new babies, jobs, adventures, engagements and birthday celebrations from friends & family all over the globe.
  

More soon ...

Monsoon!

Will it ever end???? Feel Bad for our guests, Greg and Rachel who've been troupers and dealt extremely well with the downpours and lack of sun. Luckily for them they are enjoying beautiful weather in Thailand right now....

The only good thing that comes with the monsoon is the spectacular lightning and thunder shows that bring me back to my childhood vacations in AZ, especially the rim country, during the summer desert SW monsoon . Today I got to experience seeing a bolt reflected in the window across the street, while simultaneously hearing an electric sizzle and then a blink of the eye later a clap that made me jump and the windows shake. Absolutely wonderful. We just don't get weather like that in Seattle....

Left the Island...and Made it Back

We finally had our first non-Singapore excursion this past weekend. Boy, was it a breath of fresh air (literally). Via a 1.5 hour ferry ride + 45 min. auto transport, we arrived at Trikora Beach, Palau Bintan, Indonesia. Great "budget" accommodations on rural section of the island. For our private villa bungalow over the water (deck, clean, nicely rustic) - a total of US $25 per night. About 7 bungalows total; a food menu composed of fish or meat prepared in the moment, with fresh ingredients; an endless supply of Bintang Beer (see 'photo of the week'); and only natural beauty as far as the eye could see ... a place that was totally our speed.

Of course it did rain a majority of the weekend. It is the tail end of Monsoon season. But that was a familiar element in itself -- like Orcas Island, only 30 degrees warmer..and tropical!

Singapore is a bizarre microcosm. It's not reflective of the rest of the world. And it's easy to forget that, even after only a month. Getting away was very grounding and more relaxing than I would've guessed. It is necessary to do. We'll definitely be doing it more ... time/job permitting.

P.S. of course, our trip did coincide with the escape (from Singapore) of a high-profile Indonesian terrorist... not to be found yet, possibly hiding out in Indonesia. We like to keep it real.