Bali Birthday Bash

Singapore has quick and cheap flights to many different countries in the region, so why not just go to Bali for your birthday with your best-ies.  Two ladies in our community were coming up on milestone birthdays- 30 & 40 so they decided to do a celebratory Bali birthday trip.  For $400 you can go for 4 days and 3 nights staying in a private villa.

Birthday Girls

We had a 5 room villa with private pool and personal assistants to clean and cook.  What more can a girl ask for...

Hanging out in our private pool

Maybe shopping, a hike up a volcano, and massages?

Think I fell asleep during my foot massage.

A few scenic tourist stops were thrown in

We had an amazing diner at a place called Fins.  You walked down a cliff for 50 steps then ride an "inclinator" down the mountain, and finally finished another 50 steps to end at the beach for a great meal and s'mores making.

 

We had a terrific get away that included all sorts of fun and some of the best shopping bargains.  Some of the things we purchased for $5 we later found on ebay for $100.  Wow wished I had just brought a few empty suitcases.

Found a San Diego sign that will be perfect for our upcoming move.  Look at this loot!  Yikes how are we gonna fit it in our suitcases?

So glad I had the opportunity to get away with these ladies enjoy the highlight (albeit ending up sick) -- a sunrise hike up a volcano.  My vision for what I expected was not properly thought out because at 1AM, as we were getting ready I was putting on sun screen?- Hmmm I forgot it was a sunrise hike- that means hiking in the dark.  It was pitch black out as we scaled the the mountain and unfortunately spitting rain, so we ended up buying $5 ponchos (massive rip off- but what's a girl to do)?  Our guides were terrific and boiled us eggs in the volcano and made us banana sandwiches for breakfast.  As light finally began to fill the sky, rain and clouds kept us for seeing the spectacular sunrise, however it was still beautiful.  Once it was light enough we got to see the center of the crater and smell the steam slipping out through cracks.  After the night turned into morning and we began our decent back down, the sun poked out a bit, and I was glad I had put on that sunscreen 6 hours ago!

Waiting for sunrise

Having my cup of hot tea

Suns Up- but where.  With our guides.

At the crater edge

Official sign-- Made it to the top of Batur 1717KM high

Heading back down--now at least it was daylight

Back on level ground.

Driving Annoyances

After living here almost 2 years, I've come to accept some totally annoying issues with driving in Singapore.   I'd like to share with you a few of them so you can get a feel for driving here.

1) CONSTANT road construction.  This country is always growing, so hence the need to redo roads, build and stuff.  So routinely roads will suddenly swerve to avoid a new building going up.

2) Cars that park in a driving lane.-- You say WHAT?  Yes, they really just stop their car in the road and run into a store/restaurant or even attend church.  Near us we constantly were having cars park on the road outside a popular restaurant- so Friday and Saturday night the lane was blocked.  Finally, the government hung parking cameras, so now if you park on the road you'll get a ticket.

3) Number 2 leads me to a pet peeve #3- Parking garages.  EVERYWHERE you go you must park in a garage (unless you pull a #2).  Just to go to the bank, food store, fast food-- whatever they are all in malls with parking garages.  No quick errands.

4) Speeding and red light cameras everywhere.  The benefit is they at least let you know you are entering a speed camera zone.  One of my friends even has a GPS system that alerts her she's entering a speed zone, just in case she missed the sign.

5) Pet peeve #5 is when a main travel lane also be a turning lane.  So if you are behind a car that decides to turn from your lane you must wait until they get the arrow to turn before you can continue straight along in your lane.  Ugh-- this happens constantly so you have to be prepared and get out of that lane beforehand and if there is too much traffic to change lanes, your stuck!

 




6) Sticking your car butt out.  For some reason people here can't seem to get their entire car into the turning lane, so the rear end is sticking out into the lane that continues straight.  Once again causing a back up and people trying to get around them.

7) Annoying signs that brainwash people.  Speeding Kills!

Fitness, Fun, Friends, & Finance

For many years I've enjoyed going to they gym and taking group fitness classes-- for me it's never mattered what class was offered, if the time was right I'd be there to get a workout and socialize.   Each time we move, hanging out at the gym is the way I end up meeting my new friends.  I had often thought what a great job it would be to teach the classes.  Back in December 2013, the fitness director at our community gym let me know they were having a person come onsite to do a group fitness certification and if I was interested I could join the group.  Well, you often don't get obvious signs like that, so I figured this was my opportunity and it couldn't be any clearer.  I got certified as a group fitness instructor and then also as a TRX instructor.

About a year ago, I was hired at our gym and started teaching classes.  I wanted to teach a cardio sculpt class that the director was doing, so she worked with me to get started, however, I found I have a hard time keeping beat and counting.  I realized I would need to adjust the class to not have to worry about the beat of the music.  I tweaked the class a few times and now have a a circuit training class and a group of 8-10 regular attendees.  Below is a photo of my group.

For me the best part of being a fitness instructor is having a group that regularly attends and getting to know each of them.  I've seen so many people loose weight and become stronger over the last year and I'm happy to know I have made a difference in their lives.  I will admit, that many mornings I'd like to just crawl back into bed and do nothing all day, but having a job now,  I've got to go, be positive, and make sure anyone else who dragged themselves to the class gets what they came for. When the hour is done, even if I didn't work out myself, those endorphines got flowing and I feel great heading off to start my day.

If that opportunity never presented itself to me over a year ago, I'd still be crawling back into bed skipping my workouts when I wasn't feeling great.

Angkor Wat - Temple Tours

Hearing so much about needing to see the temples in Cambodia we decided this was a family trip we should take.  We scheduled a spring break trip to Siem Reap, where the temples are located and enjoyed 1 day of temple viewing and 2 1/2 of relaxing and shopping!

Many of the temples were built between the 900's and 1200's.  In 1431 the King moved the city center from Angkor to Phnom Penh.  Amazingly the temples were abandoned and finally rediscovered by the French in the 1800's.  The temples did not have the flood of tourists they do today until the movie Tomb Raider was made in 2001.  Angelina Jolie filmed there and many of the restaurants claim to fame include being her favorite spot to eat.

We opted for a boutique hotel, small with only 28 guest house style rooms, but it provided 3 different pools to cool off in.  Fred had picked the resort without quite noticing that it was a wellness facility. That goodness you were not required to participate in the 3 day detox of coconut juice, acupuncture, and meditation.  We did however enjoy the extensive juice selections and massage options.

Cambodia accepts American dollars, so we stocked up with a wad of little bills for our market shopping.  There were 3 markets in town that sold clothes, silver, jewelry, and lots of other fun novelty items.  The big hit of Cambodia are these loose fitting pants that have elephant designs on the.  They sell them in other countries including Singapore, but the best deals are in Cambodia.  Unbelievably, 10 families from our community ended up going to Siem Reap, and I happen to run into my friend Tina and her son 10 minutes after arriving in town to begin our first day of shopping.  What a crazy small world.

 The girls and I have tried the fish spa, but Fred hadn't so we made him put his feet in.  A real bargain in Cambodia-- $3 for 30 minutes.  In Singapore it's $25 for 30 minutes.  Notice the sign says, Please feed our hungry fish your dead skin-- kinda gross and it feels very weird having the fish eat away at you.  Fred did pretty good, a little squeamish feeling until he got used to it.

There are some vehicles in Cambodia, but most people get around in tuck tucks or motorcycles.  Below is a picture of Fred and Jen riding in the forward facing 2 seats.  Surprisingly, in different countries the tuck tucks are all a little bit different.  In Cambodia they are basically a 4 person cart that attaches to the back of motorcycle.  In Thailand, it is a large 3 person bench seating area build onto the side/back of the motorcycle, but if you read about my Bangkok trip (last May) you can actually squeeze 5 people into one tuck tuck!

Overall, it was a really great experience going to Cambodia, we got to meet the friendly people who love Americans and also get a glimpse into an area that capitalizes on their history to make a living.  

Philippines Mission Trip

All SAS 8th grade students are required to do a mission activity and write about their experience.  The school offers a couple of trips that kids can go on instead of doing something locally in Singapore.  The girls wanted to go to the Philippines and work with Gawad Kalinga, an organization that has built over 100 communities to help provide a home for families living in the slums or on the streets in the Philippines.  

I decided to sign up as a chaperone, I've always wanted to go to the Philippines- really to visit the beach resorts, but who can be choosy when an opportunity arises.

Upon arriving in the Manila we headed on a 2 hour bus ride to the community we would be helping in.  This community started being built in 2012, so many of the residents have arrived within the last 2 years.  Below are some photos of Day 1.

This is the community gathering area.  We did crafts, and ate lunch made by the residents here each day.

Jen, Katie, and a couple friends with a super friendly little boy.  

Many of the kids knew very little English.  They spoke the local language of Tagalog.  As mission workers come to their village they learn some English but many kids only knew what's your name and how old are you.  This posed a little bit of difficulty, but it was amazing to see how just demonstrating or "doing" is easy to follow now matter what language you speak.

Day 2 the real work beings-- 

Katie painting the walls of a future pre-school and gathering center.

Jen shoveling broken concrete to level this area for a flat pathway.

Lunchtime- fried whole fish- you pick heads or tails.

Katie and her friend Sonia passing gravel along the gravel movement line.  Manpower is plentiful, machinery is not.

A little easier work- painting a mural- Jen happy to not be in the gravel/digging area.

A little free time- Katie giving a Filipino girl a lift.

Katie working with kids to paint designs on new t-shirts

Our entire group of SAS students painting with the village children.  You can see the housing area in the background.

A little story time.  This little boy was thrilled to have so much attention.

At the end of Day 2 we were quite exhausted but after a quick clean up at our hotel we walked across the street to a mall for dinner.  Our group had arranged to eat at a Filipino restaurant so we could try the local meals.  As we approached the outdoor mall, like so many in California, it was like we were taken back to America.  There was a Cold Stone Creamery, Jamba Juice, Pinkberry, and a PF Chengs.  We couldn't believe how many western places were here- it was heavenly (Singapore has some western affiliated places, but not to the extent of the Philippines).  Personally, after being sad we didn't get to eat at PF Chengs, I had to make a stop at Jamba Juice-  I hadn't had a smoothie from them since 2010!

Day 3  Work continues at the site as we wrap up painting the mural and leveling the ground and spreading the gravel down.

More gravel laying!

And finishing that mural.

Lunchtime-Today was Chinese New Year so our group had splurged and ordered a roast pig to be served along with the locally provided meal.  

Post lunch the kids joined together for fun and games.  All sorts of relay races were enjoyed by Americans and the Filipino kids

Our SAS kids in front of their finished mural.

All the women chaperone-- the 4 men were of trying to repair a tractor that had been donated to the community by another organization.  

Day 4 we headed into the old town of Manila for a bike ride and lunch before heading to the airport.

The bike frames were made by an established GK community, made from bamboo and random tires and chains.  

Stopping to check out some gardens in town.

Following the bike tour we stopped in this huge Catholic church in Manila. 

Overall the trip was a wonderful experience, well organized, and the GK organization seems to be really making a difference in the Philippines.  These kids are given an amazing opportunity that would never exist without corporations, schools, and individuals donating money and manpower to provide homes and safe communities for them.