Missing Fall

I love fall.  There are always lots of fun things to do and it's a great time of year weather-wise in the Mid Atlantic. Singapore has been a bit different.  A few weeks ago a friend posted a photo of her and a few other women getting ready for a morning run.  They were bundled up and looked happy but the thing that caught my attention were the leaves all over the road.  I felt wistful for the smell of leaves.  You know that fall smell- when you go out in the evening during the fall (maybe to a high school football game) the air is clean, the sky is clear, but there is a dry fall smell (maybe it's a fireplace off in the distance).  I'm not sure how to really describe it but I know it and it's not here in Singapore.  I think Yankee Candle needs to make this sent!  I love this photo of the girls with the Kiyokawa kids last fall enjoying a huge leaf pile.

My in-laws have asked me if I miss raking the leaves- NO- I don't really like that about fall, especially since we had 20+ trees in our backyard in Vienna.  However, on a perfect 63 degree day with the sun shinning and nothing else to do- an afternoon of leaf raking was ok.  We unfortunately, do have a tree here that drops leaves so I do still have to rake under one tree.  When it's 90 degrees and humid that definitely is not enjoyable.

I also saw a facebook photo of some of Katie and Jen's friends all wearing jeans and boots- fall clothes look so great!  We are all still wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts.  I feel funny in my pastel shorts and bright shirt.  I often now wear my 1 pair of black shorts, that dark color kinda helps set the fall mood.  It's hard to think about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas in tropical wear.  I know plenty of places throughout the U.S. and the world have warm falls, but I've always lived somewhere that the fall was always cooler than the summer.  Maybe in CA or SC the fall was warmer than the Mid Atlantic region, but there was a temperature shift.  In Singapore the temperature is basically the same all year round.  On the bright side, one good thing is you will never need a coat to cover up your costume on Halloween.  Here's a couple photos from the holiday here.

This Thanksgiving we are hosting 24 people in our home and I have my fall decoration up despite the fact that most people are already decorated for Christmas.  I had forgotten that only Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, and almost daily see reminders that we are the odd ones waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to move onto decorating for the next holiday.

Trip to Phuket Thailand

The girls school has a week off for fall break so I thought it would be a good opportunity to head somewhere.  With Singapore being a small island anywhere you go is an international flight even if it's just like flying from Virginia to Florida.  I have not done a lot of international trips and Singapore has so many rules about what's allowed to be brought in, I have become nervous about crossing the boarder.  Will I get checked, will they find that pack of gum.  Gum is illegal but for personal consumption so my personal pack is ok, but I still get concerned.  I decided taking a nearby family trip and having Fred with us would be the right first step in venturing outside of Singapore.

After some research, talking with other people's favorite spots, and checking prices I settled on Phuket.  It's a 11/2 hr flight and the beaches are supposed to be beautiful.  We got a great deal at the Marriott Vacation Club- 2 bedroom condo with a private plunge pool.

The resort pool wasn't too shabby either.

The beach area was completely desolate even though we saw lots of families from the girls school on the airplane and at our resort.  The pools seemed to spot to hang out for most families.

The highlight of our trip was a boat ride down to Phi Phi Island.  Phi Phi island has 6 islands one area is where a James Bond movie was filmed and then The Beach with Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed at another.  The below shots are from where "The Beach" was filmed.  Almost every sightseeing boat stops here for their tourists to see this beach.  The sand is amazingly soft, the water perfectly clear, and limestone formations make an beautiful backdrop.  Nowadays, if you visit, you will be there with 1000 of your closest friends!

Phi Phi Island is actually pronounced PP so as you can imagine on a boat trip there is a little joking around about that name.  The real laughs came however when our tour guide pointed out this is #2 pp island.  So juvenile - you'd think I had sons.  

Our boat excursion included snorkeling opportunities.  The girls and I had never done this so we were super excited to try it out.  We jumped off the front of the boat into clear water to look at beautiful coral and colorful fish.  The guide brought bananas because the fish love them and will swim up to you while you hold one in the water.  Having fish swarm all around you was a little unnerving to me, so I quickly passed my banana to someone else for a try.

 

Our trip was a complete success, now that we gave it a try and it worked out we can start looking into where to head for our next adventure.  

Wish you were here!!!!