Singapore to Australia

Singapore was a layover destination, on our way to Australia, but it allowed us to check another country off our list and to experience a new and wonderful place, if only briefly. We arrived in the middle of the day, the day before yesterday. Our landlord picked us up at the airport and drove us to the fabulous apartment we had rented for the night. We spent most of the afternoon enjoying the resort-like atmosphere of the beautiful pool. Later, we went out for some local fare at a type of food court across the street. Everything was truly delicious!

Looking for something to fill our time and a way to keep from having to carry our bags around all day while waiting on transport from one place to another (a fairly familiar story for us), we made a plan to spend the day at the Singapore Zoo. We started the day with the Jungle Breakfast, which was one of the most spectacular breakfast buffets I have ever taken part in. Additionally, a handful of orangutans and a ball python provided the entertainment, much to the kids' delight.

I should tell you that I am normally not a fan of zoos at all. I find most of them very depressing and not terribly interesting, and I generally avoid them at all costs. But, we had heard good things about the Singapore Zoo, and we have young kids, who love all zoos, plus the zoo has lockers, where we planned to store our bags (until our landlord offered to just store them for us). It seemed like a pretty reasonable plan. The Singapore Zoo completely shattered all our preconceived notions of zoos! It was absolutely fabulous! The animals seemed so happy and well cared for, and the enclosures we truly magnificent. Many of the animals have the opportunity to free-range, and it is clear they love their lovely rainforest environment as much as the human visitors do.

In fact, the rainforest environment is so real that we got caught in a torrential rainstorm that soaked us to the bone in a matter of minutes, destroying my phone and watch in the process and requiring each of us to wring out our dripping clothes in the zoo bathroom and undergo a complete wardrobe change once we got to the airport, before we could board our overnight flight. I do not believe I have ever been so wet! However, we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits but just continued to enjoy our day. Even with the rain and the wrecked electronics, it was a really excellent day.

We flew all night (most of us without sleeping) and arrived in Melbourne this morning before the sun was up. Since we couldn't check into our apartment in Ballarat until 2:00, we took our time driving over and stopped to see a few sights, have some lunch, do some shopping, and play on a humongous playground/nap in the car. The kids all took long naps when we got to the apartment. I think now we are all caught up on our sleep and ready to enjoy our Australian adventures. Incidentally, exiting the plane today means we have now visited six of the seven continents!

Singapore Apartment

The entrance to the lovely Singapore Zoo

Here come the orangutans!

This guy was super excited to have breakfast with the orangutans!

This little friend was full of energy and so fun to watch! 

The other guest at the jungle breakfast was a ball python

Just one station of the expansive and wonderful buffet

Map reader

We loved the sea lion show!

Clay was picked as an audience volunteer during the pet show.
He was amazed every time the little dog jumped through his hoop.

For his participation, Clay was given a frisbee.

One of the zoo's beautiful white tigers

Nothing says "Welcome to Australia" like wild kangaroos throat-punching each other.

Kuala Lumpur

Our time in Malaysia has been short and sweet. We arrived late last night, spent the day in the heart of Kuala Lupur, and will fly out tomorrow morning. We spent most of our time at the KLCC (Kuala Lupur City Centre), just a short air-conditioned walk from our apartment. The area has been built around the famous Petronas Towers and houses, among other things, a 50 acre, tropically landscaped park, which consists of walking trails, a dancing fountain, a fantastic wading pool, and the most impressive playground we have ever seen.

The Petronas Towers

The wading pool at the KLCC Park

Marine life sculptures

These boys had a big time getting soaked with their regular clothes on!

The most awesome playground we have ever been to (and we've been to a bunch)!
This picture doesn't even show half of the playground equipment.

Always coming out on top

A unique way to go up

Lake Symphony light and water show

We had a wonderful dinner at the base of the towers
and were delighted to see them lit up after dark.

Samui Sightseeing

For the two weeks we were in Samui, we could barely pull ourselves away from our beach villa, and we certainly never left our lovely Bang Po Beach. But on the last day, we had no choice, and we had basically all day before our flight out, so we hired a driver and decided to circumnavigate the island and see some of the sights. What we saw ranged from the gorgeous to the bizarre to the slightly inappropriate. We had a great day and felt it was just the right amount of sightseeing.

The Elephant Gate

We happened upon this cute little chocolate shop,
where a Ukrainian couple makes a variety of Thai chocolates. 

Na Muang Falls

~The Mummified Monk~
Apparently, this monk died while meditating, after predicting the very day of his death.
 The local Buddhist community concluded that that was the ultimate in faithfulness
and decided to preserve and enshrine his body, which is now on display for all to see.

~Guan Yu~
Chinese general turned deity

~Hinta Hinyai~
Translated "Grandpa, Grandma" and so named because of the similarity
in appearance to the male and female genitalia. Our boys didn't really get "hinyai,"
but they had no trouble identifying "hinta" and, of course, thought it was hilarious.
(Didn't I warn you that some of the sights were inappropriate?!)

We had a to take a little break from our sightseeing to enjoy
homemade coconut ice cream served in real coconut bowls.

A stop simply called "The Viewpoint,"
with breathtaking views of the Gulf of Thailand

Koh Samui's Big Buddha and several of his interesting statuary friends

Last Day in Koh Samui

Sadly, our time in Koh Samui has come to an end. Our time here has been sweet beyond words and will always be fondly remembered, and, hopefully, we will be able to return someday. In these past two weeks, the sun, surf, and serenity of our surroundings have facilitated a refreshing of our souls, beyond what we even knew we needed. With this renewal of spirit has come a renewal of mind, and both Jeff and I have been able to explore the depths of projects that we are very much excited about working on, as well as have meaningful conversations about the future, which now seems less daunting and more approachable than it did before. So, even though I'm sad to leave Koh Samui, I feel being here has given me the benefit of having new eyes, and I'm so grateful for this time. Now, on to Malaysia!

Island Life

I haven't written lately, because, honestly, there hasn't been much particularly newsworthy going on. The island life is pretty low-key and very relaxed (though not entirely idle, as you will see). I've been told by some concerned readers that they become anxious about our safety and well-being if I don't check in from time to time, so here I am, with a peek at what island life looks like for us.

• On weekdays, the older two kids and the grown-ups hop up around 6:00 am (at the kids' request) to workout. We alternate between strength training on the porch and walking/running on the beach. I am ridiculously sore, but I'm so happy that we are being intentional about implementing some of our family's health and fitness goals.
• Breakfast is eaten on the porch, overlooking the beach, and usually involves some sort of delicious fresh fruit. The younger boys love to walk down to the fruit stand and pick out a wide variety of fruits they know and love, as well as a few new-to-us fruits to try. They are also dying to pick the pineapple growing along the path to the pool (though, of course, I won't let them), and I believe Max is secretly scheming to climb a coconut tree to pluck one of the tasty green coconuts. This morning Clay made breakfast for everyone by himself (slices of bread on plates, with "toppings"--butter and jelly-- at the ready) and was so proud to present his "buffet" to us when came into the kitchen.
• Jeff has been working on a new business idea and has been making excellent progress.
• I have been putting together some ideas for a writing project, which I'm really excited about. I have also been watching my journal sales soar this month, which has been loads of fun. (If you happen to have been one of the purchasers of the journal, thank you. I would appreciate it so much if you could leave me a review on Amazon.)
• There are usually a couple of trips to the pool everyday, and Clay is really getting the hang of swimming on his own. He also begs for Jeff to do "throw-ups" with him (throwing him into the air, letting him splash under the water, and then scooping him up as he swims to the surface). "Dad, can we do two more swims and then two more throw-ups before we go?!"
• We have met an older Thai man, who might truly be the most interesting man in the world, if half of what he says is true. We have visited with him a couple of times and have been somewhat amazed by his stories, which do not seem entirely believable or unbelievable. He is a sweet, lonely man and very generous, and, even if his stories turned out not to be true, we would be glad to say we met him.
• In the evenings, we usually walk along the beach, as a breathtaking sunset takes over the sky, and pick a new restaurant to try or revisit one we have already enjoyed. We sip fruity little drinks, eat a variety of delicious so-spicy and not-so-spicy Thai foods, and enjoy the company of our favorite people and the hospitality of the lovely Thai people. 
• There are all sorts of interesting creatures around, and lessons in natural science abound. We have many small geckos around, inside and outside the house, that scurry along the walls snacking on insects and calling to one another with loud croaks that make me think of dinosaurs for some reason. And last night, a very large tokay gecko paid us a visit, and we were simultaneously fascinated and terrified, watching him working his powerful jaws, as he tried to snatch enormous flying beetles out of the air. I also found an unnecessarily and inappropriately large spider in the bathroom. Somewhere in my reasonably intelligent brain, I knew he was there to keep the bug population from taking over, but as I tried to exit the bathroom with him on the door, I felt as if he presented a mortal danger to me instead. I did not mean to squeal, but I could not help it, and since, at that moment, I felt like it was either him or me, I got my brave hubby to come take care of the situation. The spider's body ended up in the trashcan beside the sink, and within an hour, an army of abnormally large ants had moved in and started dismantling the body, which they dutifully carried off piece by piece. It was disturbingly mesmerizing to watch. Afraid the entire house would be overrun by the ants and that they might be looking for more flesh to munch, we moved the whole can outside, and when we got up this morning, there was nothing left of the spider and no ant was in sight. It was a spectacular display of nature at work!
• Additionally, we have been reading lots of books, playing a few games, watching some movies, sneaking in the occasional nap, and soaking up our beautiful life in this beautiful place. 

Weston had a difficult time figuring out the crab cracker,
but our waitress (who may have also been the owner of the restaurant)
came over and took over the job for him, which he thought was great.
The following night, we saw a man out in the water catching crabs
just like these. That's about as fresh as seafood can get!

The little pineapple that greets us on our way to the pool

Fried rice in a pineapple boat

Jeff and Weston found this fun place at the end of the beach.
Most of the tables were inside little cabanas, but we chose the one sitting over the water.
There were hammocks and humongous swings interspersed with the tables,
and the owner was very proud that he could offer us paper umbrellas on our drinks.

Amazing Koh Samui Sunsets

The fascinating and slightly terrifying tokay gecko

Mr. Big, making breakfast

Where in the World are the Watts? Part 4

Not all of our time here on Koh Samui has been idle. In fact, Jeff and I have both been working hard (from an office with a killer view!) to finalize the last bit of our RTW trip. All the when/where blanks are now filled in on the spreadsheet, and since my previously published itinerary runs out when we leave Koh Samui, I thought some of you might be interested to know what's on the horizon for us in the next few months.

This chart also includes our U.S. re-entry plan, which we have finally settled on, through much discussion and soul-searching. We don't believe our nomadic hearts we will ever be satisfied with a truly stationary lifestyle, but to accomplish some of the particular goals of our family in the next few years, we will need a home base in the U.S. We have chosen the Lewisville/Flower Mound area of Texas, because it offers many opportunities to help us meet our goals. You will no doubt be hearing more about the particulars in future posts, but for now, this should be enough information to help you understand the last line of the chart.

If you are new to the blog and are wondering about the other parts of our journey, you can click on the links below to see our other When/Where charts:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

When	Where
Mar. 31 - Apr. 2	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Apr. 2 – Apr. 3	Singapore
Apr. 3 – Apr. 4	Overnight Flight to Melbourne
Apr. 4 – Apr. 9	Ballarat, Australia
Apr. 9 – Apr. 14	Melbourne, Australia
Apr. 14 – Apr. 17	Hamilton Island, Australia
Apr. 17 – Apr. 19	Farrants Hill, Australia
Apr. 19 – Apr. 22	Charlotte Bay, Australia
Apr. 22 – Apr. 27	Sydney, Australia
Apr. 27 – May 4	Christchurch, New Zealand
May 4 – May 8	Dunedin, New Zealand
May 8 – May 12	Wanaka, New Zealand
May 12 – May 15	Twizel, New Zealand
May 15 – May 17	Kaikoura, New Zealand
May 17 – May 23	Wellington, New Zealand
May 23 – May 26	New Plymouth, New Zealand
May 26 – May 27	Hamilton, New Zealand
May 27 – May 31	Whitianga, New Zealand
May 31 – May 31 (The dates are not a typo. We will cross the International Date Line.)	Overnight Flight to Kona, Hawaii
May 31 – June 11	Kona, Hawaii
June 11 – June 16	Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
June 16 – June 21	Laie, Oahu, Hawaii
June 21 – June 29	Kauai, Hawaii
June 29 – July 1	Hana, Maui, Hawaii
July 1 – July 6	Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
July 6 – July 7	Overnight flight to Dallas, TX
July 7 – July 15	Lewisville, TX

I could get used to this

After our Trans-Mongolian train trip, I made a post in which I mentioned that our travel lifestyle is a far cry from being all glitz and glamor, and that is absolutely true. But here on Koh Samui, in our large beach house, I must admit, life feels pretty glamorous. The American dollar goes pretty far here, so we've been able to indulge in a bit more luxury than we are used to. First of all, we have been working our way through the beach restaurants, eating the most amazing Thai food, for almost nothing. Tonight, we decided mix things up a bit by having a Thai cook come to our home and prepare a fantastic meal for us here, for about $50 USD, which included the price of the groceries, the preparation of two appetizers and four main dishes (of which we had leftovers), and, most amazing of all, a thorough cleaning of the kitchen and washing of the dishes afterwards. Earlier in the day, a housekeeper came to the house, whose twice weekly services are included in the price of our house. And, we received our laundry back from the laundry facility down the road, all washed, dryed and folded for about $1/kg. All this in addition to living ten steps from a gorgeous, quiet beach in what can only be called "Paradise." It's definitely not my usual lifestyle, but I don't think it would take me long to get used to it! 

Many of the beach restaurants have bean bag chairs scattered around,
which the boys absolutely love hanging out in!

Pool Time
(Our house is in the background--20 steps to the pool and 10 steps to the beach,
according to Weston's undoubtedly accurate calculations.)

Sunset in Paradise

Chicken Satay and Tempura Vegetables, with dipping sauces

A fantastic meal, prepared in our home, and not by our hands
(From the back: Sweet and Sour pork, Massaman curry,
Shrimp Pad Thai, and Pineapple Fried Rice)

The Visuals

Here are the pictures that go with yesterday's post:

Dim Sum in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Light Show

The Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery

Funarium Fun

Train Travel

Our first day on Koh Samui

If you need me in the next couple of weeks, I'll be here.

Whirlwind Travel Days

When I looked at the date of my last post, I couldn't believe it was only three days ago. So much has happened since then. And, a whole lot of ground has been covered. Literally. On Sunday, we flew from Xi'an to Hong Kong, where we made every effort to maximize our short overnight visit. We had our first experience with dim sum, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Afterwards, we took in the famous Hong Kong light show down at the harbor. The following day, after a quick breakfast at a chain-y coffee shop (because the kids rejected a local place after reading "Pig Blood Curd" on the menu), and after stashing our bags at the designated area in the airport, we made the long bus ride out to see the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha), which sits on the property of the Po Lin Monastery. At 112 ft. tall, we felt he was appropriately named. Clay was absolutely thrilled to see such a large statue up close, and we all enjoyed the experience of being at the lovely monastery, up in the mountains. After climbing up the 268 steps to the base of the statue and giving it a good looking over, we headed back down for a vegetarian meal at the monastery. For most of our group, it was the first opportunity to try tofu, which was met with mixed reviews. Overall, the meal, which was served family-style, was good, and we all found things we enjoyed.

From there, we headed back to the airport to catch our flight to Bangkok. It was our first time flying Sri Lankan Air, but we are all hoping it won't be our last. It was so nice and had so many amenities, a couple of the kids thought we had mistakenly entered the first class compartment, rather than coach. We all had our own screens, each equipped with a wide variety of movies and games, so the flight passed quickly. (By the way, I chose to watch Bridge of Spies, with Tom Hanks, and I just want say that if you haven't seen it, you absolutely must. Admittedly, I don't watch a lot of movies, but I'm a sucker for movies inspired by true events. It is the best movie I have seen in some time, and it has left me with a great many things to think deeper on.) By the time we made it to our apartment, it was late, and we were all ready to call it a day. Unfortunately, around 11:30 pm, the landlord contacted us to let us know that we would have to vacate before 8:00 in the morning, because she had an exterminator coming, and she couldn't reschedule. She apologized profusely for the inconvenience and even refunded the money we paid for the night, so it wasn't all bad.

So, bright and early, we strapped on our packs and headed out to explore Bangkok's breakfast offerings. We found a hotel not terribly far away offering a buffet breakfast that seemed perfect for our hungry group. Our train wasn't scheduled to leave the city until 7:30 pm, so our goal after breakfast was to find a way to keep the kids entertained without spending the day lugging our packs around in the heat and humidity, which, though very welcome to us after months and months of coldness, was not ideal for tramping around with heavy packs on our backs. We took a cab over to the Funarium, which was the best decision we could have made. Inside the large air conditioned building, we found a huge jungle gym, a bike track, a trampoline, a climbing wall, a ball pit, a sport court, a cafe, clean (and fully equipped) restrooms, and a couple of masseuses. Everyone was perfectly happy, and we had a wonderful day.

Eventually, we headed to the train station. So we could catch an overnight train, so we could catch a bus, so we could catch a ferry, so we could catch a taxi. So we could get to my happy place on Koh Samui. I have already declared my intentions to stay here indefinitely. If it weren't for the fact that there is still much of the world to be seen, I probably would, too! This place is amazing! Our house sits right on the beach and is huge and gorgeous. The sea breeze blows through our windows, and fragrant, beautiful flowers bloom all around. I can feel almost tangible changes in my body and my attitude (not that either was noticeably ill before). We walked down the beach and had a delicious lunch at a place with a sand floor and no walls. The younger boys played on the beach and in the water, and they found a coconut, which they worked on cracking. Eventually, Ruth helped them get into it, and they were all disappointed and disgusted to find it rotten, stinky, and full of worms. We found another fun beach restaurant to eat at for dinner, and were treated to a small fireworks show as we made our way back to our house. So far, everything about Koh Samui is absolute perfection. I am looking forward to spending the next couple of weeks here.

*I'll try to add pictures tomorrow.

Xi'an Wall

Yesterday was our last day in Xi'an, and we spent it hanging out on the awesome and ancient Xi'an Wall, which was built during the Tang Dynasty (600s-900s) and expanded during the Ming Dynasty (1300s to 1600s). Jeff and the older kids rode bikes all the way around the wall, a distance of almost 9 miles. Clay was too small to ride the bikes, so he and I had a date in which we wandered through the impressive New Year's decorations and stopped for a drink. It was a beautiful day, and we all had so much fun!

The Xi'an Wall

My people, at the wall

Ready for a unique bike ride

One of the many watchtowers on the wall

Don't I have a handsome date?!

A million people stopped us to take pictures of or with Clay,
but this one was my favorite (and Clay's too!)

It's fun to go on a date with a statue lover when you are surrounded by "statues"