Boston

Publishing another draft I found 5 years later...

We made two trips to Boston as a family in 2019. In the spring, while choosing a skiing destination, we decided we wanted to try the east coast of the US. So far, we've only skied at Whistler in the Americas. The travel from east to west coast eats into the little time we have over spring break. So we decided on Okemo for the ease of travel - direct flight to Boston. I've only made a short trip to Boston before and was eager to check it out again.

In the spring, we stayed at the Boston Seaport Hotel on arrival. The kids enjoyed this a lot - they had a nice fireplace in the lobby and an indoor pool. Hubby liked the gym next to the pool. The location was very central and we soon regretted renting a car for the city portion of our trip. So not to struggle with parking, we took Uber most places. Hubby and I had a tasty dinner at the on site TAMO Bistro. The hotel had a Starbucks and a Dunkin' Donuts close by, among other restaurants, where we sourced breakfasts. I think Boy's favorite thing about Boston is the DD on every corner - he was in heaven.

We checked out the Harvard campus, out of curiosity. Enjoyed a nice lunch at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka. Ramen is another one of Boy's favorites. Threw snowballs at Boston Commons - Hubby and kids acted like they've never seen snow before. They also skated in the rink, which was quite crowded. Dinner at the Quincy Market - lobster rolls and live music. We had to drag the kids to the Museum of Science (they are allergic to museums), but once there, we all enjoyed the the myriad exhibits and the IMAX film. Also had dim sum at China Pearl. Also tried our first Amorino location - gelato is pretty good and the presentation can't be beat. Great to walk the different Boston neighborhoods.

Boston Common

Chinatown

Museum of Science

Onward to Okemo, about a 3 hour drive, where we enjoyed three days of skiing. It is a smaller resort but big enough for us. We stayed in the Mountain Lodge, which is condo-like. Everything was very convenient - restaurants, ski rental, laundry and pool. With a car, we could also get groceries to make some meals in the kitchen and try restaurants off site. Fond memories are the Waffle Cabin, the Mountain Coaster and heated lifts!

We enjoyed the experience so much that we made another trip in the winter with extended family. Repeated much of the above activities. We stayed at the Westin this time around, and realized that it's not too bad to walk from the seafront to many attractions. We did also use the subway this time around, leaving the car rental only for when we headed to Okemo. Sis had Taiyaki, and we tried Hong Kong Eatery and Ruckus. We rented a lake house in Mount Holly via Airbnb this time to accommodate the bigger group. It was a little painful to deal with all the ski equipment transport, the lugging from Okemo guest parking. We had 3 new skiers taking lessons. It was good fun and we hope to have another family ski vacation.

Boston Common again

Definitely Boston again.

Parenting

Taking a work break after finishing a contract...finding time to post again and found a couple of drafts from 2020 :o). Concerns have stayed the same, mostly, except Boy's politics have mellowed some...

I'm often still surprised at how similar and different Hubby and I are, at the same time. He's from Finland, I'm from Singapore. He's both extrovert (enjoys social events) and introvert (enjoys his own company), whereas I tend to introvert. He's had a pretty independent childhood, but mine was more supervised. When it comes to parenting, we've had to compromise on many things. Last weekend, Hubby left for a summer visit to Finland alone, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. This is a first in many years, and I've had some time to experience what it's like to parent alone - not an easy task. Our normal routine of good cop bad cop is missing a vital participant.

Hubby grew up with a brother ten years younger, so he witnessed some parenting up close. I have younger siblings but can't really say that I'm comfortable around kids. My approach to parenting was one of misplaced confidence - if so many other women can do this, I can too. Hubby was perhaps more realistic about the challenges. We were in our early thirties when Boy arrived and I was flummoxed by the little bundle of energy that flouted my best efforts to contain and channel. It took me two years to see eye to eye with Hubby on having a second one. But when Girl arrived, her calmer personality allowed me to see that, well...sometimes it's just personality.

I grew up with the threat of corporal punishment. It's just part of the culture - even school policy for certain offenses. My parents were measured in the application but spanking is illegal in Finland. So we first had to agree to no spanking (although I do sneak in a slap on the bottom for emphasis). My mom predicted that our children would "climb on your head and poop on it". We found out from Girl, after we left Singapore, that her kindergarten teacher had spanked her for crying during a phase when she cried at drop off. Had Hubby found out sooner, the teacher would have had a talking to.

Another area of compromise - academics. Singapore and Finland both have top rated education systems, but the approaches are different. Hubby didn't have much homework or testing but I did. I am of the opinion that if you put in the work, you will do fine. Emphasis on work - it's not like the system, especially the American one, sets you up to fail. Having lived in the west since my teens, I now see that it's not really about what you learn or how you score on testing but how you apply it. So rather than nag about grades, we nag about effort.

Boy takes after Hubby when it comes to athleticism, but he's mostly mini-me. Opinionated, stubborn, emotional. Our similar personalities cause us to clash often, with him often rebutting me in the exact way I would, making it more infuriating. Hubby plays the role of mediator in these confrontations, reminding me to be the grown up. Girl usually just ups and hides when these crop up, and in this past week, without the mediator, they did a lot. We argue about whether he should get a haircut, be online so much, what he should eat, if he should exercise. He's a conservative (how did that happen?) and feels that Trump is not getting a fair shake from media (um...depends on what you watch, right?). His lack of empathy allows him to question why racism and feminism are such a big deal when heart disease kills more people. He's already an atheist (thanks, Hubby), but has a habit of invoking God's name when frustrated or elated. He's intelligent but eschews hard work, preferring to wing it, whether at sports or school. Fun is at the top of his priorities. Anything else is "cringe" or boring. We implore him to be open-minded, see the other side, but my delivery of "why don't you..." needs work.

Girl, for the time being, is more mini-Hubby - calm, contemplative. We are more able to reason with her. In the end, what we're trying to do is prepare them for the world. To know themselves, see value in others, spot opportunities and threats. These skills will help them adapt and thrive. Because while they are our special snowflakes, they will not be that to others, at least not without some hard work.

Favorite Downtown St Petersburg Activities

We have frequent outings to downtown St Petersburg in Florida. It feels like a hip little part of the city. Restaurants with sidewalk seating, often with performers adding to the atmosphere, makes for a fun day out. It is relaxing to stroll in the pretty parks by the water, and there are often events that add to the already long list of attractions. One of our favorite things to do is to browse the Saturday Morning Market that run October to May. There's live music, food vendors, all sorts of things to explore. The only challenge is finding a parking space on the weekends, especially on Saturdays during the market months.

Straub Park decked out for the winter holidays

Restaurants

We'll start with the food, of course. One of our favorite places is Ceviche, a tapas restaurant. They have a good variety of tapas, with a nice patio. They used to do a superb cava sangria, but while it's still pretty good, it's somehow not as yummy.

Another place we go to often is Bento. The bowls and boba are delicious, but somehow this location is not as nice as the ones in Gainesville or Orlando. Mainly because they don't have the Szechuan noodle soup.

We have also tried Hawkers Asian Street Fare, but being from Singapore, my hawker food expectation is very high. It's still a nice spot with outdoor seating, so we may go again.

There are lots of other places to try, but as creatures of habit, we seem to always gravitate to the usual. However, I don't think we have ever missed going to Paciugo for gelato on any trip. Who can resist the visual feast of colors? The kids enjoy odd flavors like violet, but the adults go with affogatos (Hubby likes the dark chocolate flavors and I never miss the Bacio).

Affogato - espresso & gelato

Attractions

The crown jewel of downtown St Pete is probably the Dali Museum. Just the sight of the building itself is impressive. It's not a large place, but usually has interesting temporary exhibits on top of the permanent one.

Inside the Dali

The Museum of Fine Arts is also very fine :o), with small collections of art from around the world. There is a beautiful, large kapok tree next to it that children (and adults) like to climb.

The James Museum is minimalistic and serene. The entry hall itself calls you to contemplation.

The Morean Arts Center with the Chihuly Collection is a trip into the surreal.

Inside the Chihuly

There are quite a few other museums to check out for our future trips.

Kayaking at Weeki Wachi

It's hard to find things to do these days, but for Father's Day, we lucked into some kayaking spots at Weeki Wachee. We've been to the park before and enjoyed the springs (we do enjoy tubing in a few of the Florida springs), but were not sure if we could properly social distance at the park itself for now. The last time we visited, it was quite busy. The entrance fees were quite reasonable for something akin to a small water park. The kids tubed on the small section of the springs and saw manatees. I still plan on taking in the mermaid show one day - it rained just at the start of our last visit so we had to give it a miss.

Anyway, just note that when booking the kayaks, the site will display only the availability at that moment. Don't try, like we did, to book the same slot from different devices - book for the group at the same time. The booking also had us arrive 30 minutes ahead of our 8am slot, but that was when they opened and we were only allowed in about 5 minutes ahead. There is the larger parking lot but you can drive into the kayak area parking lot. Also the kayak area seems to only have port-a-potties, not proper toilets.

It was a rather efficient operation - checking in, getting life vests, going to the springs to hop in the kayak. It was really pretty and relaxing in the beginning of the run. As we got closer to the end, there were more residences by the springs, so a lot more happening. People were out on boats, playing music from backyards, just having a good time. We did not see any manatees like I wanted. It being our first time, we also had trouble figuring out the end point to return the kayaks - there was no sign. The route was to stay left and the end point would be to the left of a bridge. We actually finished in good time - we were told that the first to finish is usually at 10:30 but we were done about 10:20. Next time we'll have to take it a little slower - it's a 4 hour rental after all. We beached and swam a bit along the way, but you are told to stay with the kayak at all times.

Our return shuttle to the car was on a school bus, which was pretty cool. Daddy enjoyed his treat!

Ranger - North Georgia

With our summer trip to Finland cancelled due to COVID-19, we decided to take the family to North Georgia to stay at a cabin. We found a cabin managed by Vacasa through AirBnB, in the Talking Rock Creek Resort, for our group of eight. The resort seems to be a large area, with several gated entries. Google Maps took us to one on which the gate code we were given did not work. Someone who came behind us kindly let us use their code to get in. We found later that the gate code worked at the entrance where the community pool was. We did not have maps to the area but relied on the directions from kind strangers.

We got to the cabin and the cleaner was just finishing up. It had a really nice view but the cabin was a little dilapidated. The original listing had a hot tub - we did not find one and the listing was subsequently updated. Some of the furniture was quite worn - the sleeper sofa in the loft had a plank box in place of the sleeper, one of the hammocks on the patio was torn. Other than that, the place was adequate. They even prepped a campfire over which the kids enjoyed smores. Biggest problem is the mosquitoes and the repellent we had did not help much. The wifi was also spotty.

View from cabin

The highlight of the area is still the outdoors though. We found the Trout Lodge on Google maps. The lodge itself was not open but we walked down to the creek behind it and the children had a blast swimming, finding fish, tadpoles and rocks. There were pretty butterflies. No one else there but us. The gym at the pool was not open but there was a trail with some exercise equipment across the street. We read that you might find bears but fortunately, we did not.

Trout Lodge & Park

There were some pretty butterflies at the creek

We thought we brought plenty of food but still had to supplement. There are a couple small convenience store/gas station in the area. In the end we had to drive thirty minutes to nearby Jasper's Walmart for supplies - the mountain air increases your appetite? On the way, you could see some family farms which could be interesting to visit. Apparently there are apple orchards nearby for u-pick in the fall. Going to Georgia for the fall colors is still on my bucket list...

Chateau Elan, Atlanta

So it's been a few years since the last post. To catch up, we couldn't place Girl in local school in Singapore, had our permanent residence application denied, so started our journey back to the US. We tried a stint in Gainesville, FL and then settled in the Tampa Bay area.
This week we celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary at Chateau Elan. We make fairly frequent trips to Atlanta to visit family. For the first time, we left the kids with family to go stay at a hotel all by ourselves. We were looking for a spa hotel and decided on this one for its location and amenities, making reservations for our stay, spa visit and restaurant meals couple weeks in advance.
We booked a package for two nights which came with a bottle of wine and some resort credit. The place is big - hotel, winery, golf course, restaurants, spa, conference space, walking trails. Driving up, you do get a feel of arriving at a Disney-fied French chateau. The property is pretty - but perhaps like a Marriott with French touches?
It was our first hotel stay since the start of the COVID-19 and it was odd to see everyone in masks. There were temperature-taking machines and self-cleaning handles, elevator buttons (wonder how these work). Resort fee was $42/day and on top of that, $16/day parking fee. For a place advertising luxury experience, the service does not match the price.
The biggest problem with our stay was that it we were put in an adjoining room. We could hear everything through the door. The first night, our next-door neighbors had the tv on till 3am. We called the front desk to ask for support, then Hubby knocked on the door, but no joy. When we talked to the front desk the next day, they apologized and stated the occupants had checked out and they would not put anyone else there that night. A promise they did not keep. Hubby talked to the new neighbors who said they would not be up late but it was still 1am before things quieted down, and 6am when they were up and about again. The room itself was quite nice - we had a separate bathtub and shower.
The pool area was quite nice, but could've done with a couple of showers for people entering and exiting the pool. There was a pool bar with food options. The atrium was also very pretty and they offered afternoon tea reservations. We wanted to dine at the golf course restaurant and the front desk informed that we would have to drive over to there. We arrived to find out the kitchen was not open for the week. This should be something the front desk is aware of. Drove back and dined at the Louis' House of Bourbon instead. I had a meat and cheese plate and Hubby a burger. Both were ok - the place is more of a bar, with loud music.
We had a hard time finding things as there did not seem to be enough signs for such a huge place. The spa was nice but whirlpool and saunas were closed. Spa prices were cheaper on weekdays. We had a couples massage - it was nice to be offered refreshments at check-in but the robes provided seemed a little worn. We made a lunch reservation at the Fleur-de-Lis restaurant which overlooked the garden. Brunch was very nice and as we noted on the reservation that we were celebrating our anniversary, they treated us to some macaroons. Note there are also spa rooms for overnight stays, but they are pricier than the inn rooms.
We found out at check-in that we had to make a reservation to use the gym. Same-day reservations did not seem available. It had a nice enough equipment selection. We were surprised to learn that a wine tasting was included with our stay. It was a seven sample flight and the winery area was very scenic. They also had wine tasting sessions (and tours) for purchase. The wines tended to sweet though. We found out that our free wine bottle was to be from a limited selection, something that they really should indicate in advance.
We had dinner at Marc, in the winery, for which we also had to make a reservation. It didn't seem to matter as the hostess still asked if we were celebrating something, even if we indicated so on the reservation. I was hoping to be seated in the patio, but when we were not, I made the request to which the hostess replied that it was not possible since the patio is very popular. So again, why reservations? Hubby had deep fried brussel sprouts as a starter - a big portion and the accompanying honey sriracha sauce had me eating it too. My onion soup seemed to be a mushroom soup in disguise. Mains were mahi mahi and sea scallops (3), pretty good. Broccolini and potatoes for sides. We got a chocolate cake for free - yum.

The verdict -
*Ask for a non-adjoining room if you don't need it
*Ask for a nice table as part of the reservation

More fun with kids in Singapore

We decided to check out the National Museum in April 2014 for the People's Collection. There was a minimal admission fee for the adults - the kids did not have to pay. It was a neat little exhibit with old documents and trinkets. There seems to be interesting exhibits going on all the time - nice hangout for a rainy day. Had lunch at the onsite Food for Thought, which was nice too.

Museum exterior

 Another nice excursion was the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (free!) in Chinatown. It was a different experience for the kids, walking among all the religious icons. The kids had a hard time behaving in the sombre main hall. Girl managed to pop her balloon near the exit, which gave everyone quite a start in the quiet. Yes, we had balloons from some advertising vendor on the way to the Museum. We tried to be discreet with them, even tried to leave them somewhere but were told that they could bring them along. The attendants were really kind though - they gave her some candy as she was sad at the loss of the balloon. The relic chamber was quite splendidly golden. Our favorite part was the rooftop garden. It was tranquil, but the kids could also be a little less restrained. There was also a large prayer wheel, which they found fascinating. Afterwards, we watched some line dancing in the square outside, and had dinner at nearby Chinatown Food Street.

Temple exterior

Rooftop garden

Batam

Brother-in-law and fiance came to visit January 2014. We decided to take a long weekend family trip to Batam. It is a short 30 minute boat ride from Singapore, but I don't do well on boats. On the trip over on a Friday morning, we had to sit inside and the water was choppy. It was a miserable 30 minutes.
We stayed at the Turi Beach Resort. It had nice views. Sea water didn't look so good/clean to swim in, but the hotel had two swimming pools. The place was very windy and pool water a bit cold. The adults had complimentary massages with the room booking, followed by ginger tea. Dinner was at the teppanyaki restaurant, which was fun.

View from balcony outside room

Beach looks like this

Pool with swim up bar

Breakfast was ok - good variety of food. We walked around the property a bit, then decided to take a trip to Mega Mall for some light shopping. We stayed another day before we checked out, mostly just chilling. Kids were happy with pool and sand. The trip home was on a bigger boat and sitting outside made the boat trip more bearable.
An easy, lazy weekend destination, but expect to pay in Singapore dollars at resorts, meaning things are not at Indonesian prices.We would like to check out Bintan one day - hear the beaches are a bit nicer.

Singapore - Fun with the kids

We are constantly on the lookout for fun things to do with the kids on weekends. They spend a lot of time at school, watching tv, playing on the iPad - all indoor activities. So for outdoor fun, which is usually free (yeah!), we head to various parks.
Recently we checked out Hindhede Park in the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. It was fun to watch people feeding the fish, and we even saw a big lizard swimming in the water. One of these days we will conquer one of the longer trails. We've also been on the Southern Ridges, where we walked on bridges atop the trees (and I was robbed by a monkey) and marveled at the Henderson Waves. I like the Botanic Gardens and the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. The Gardens by the Bay is also free (if you don't enter either of the domes). Plenty of space for the children to run wild. Update - there has been a water feature addition (great for the kids).

Hindhede Park - view of old quarry

Then there are the paid attractions. Recently, we made a trip to the zoo with Girl's school. It is done really well, and the shows were very entertaining. We especially liked the new polar bear exhibit, and the water play feature was fantastic! Boy has been to the Night Safari, but we are waiting for an excuse to take Girl (3yo) - not sure that she is ready to appreciate it just yet. On our plans is the River Safari, but we might wait for the boat ride to be ready.

Polar bear at the zoo Frozen Tundra exhibit

Speaking of boat rides, I have taken the kids on the River Cruise but recently a friend let us in on the water taxi secret (the website doesn't have the rate) - same ride for only $3! Update - you need to have an EZ-link card for this deal now. Okay, $6 for round trip, but you could always just use another form of transportation on the return. There is no video, and you might wait a little while the ticket seller summons the boat, but on a cool day, it is excellent.

The water taxi stops at many of SG's riverside attractions

For Boy's birthday in May, we went to Adventure Cove, where he wanted to spend all day in the wave pool. Girl was fascinated by the lazy river, where we could see fish in adjacent tanks (or tunnels!) from time to time. Go early to reserve one of the cabanas - there are the fancy paid ones and the plain free ones good enough for taking a rest from the sun. Update - all the cabanas seem to have been converted to paid ones, but the upside is some are available for online booking in advance. Also part of Resorts World Sentosa is Universal Studios. Girl was tall enough for the Transformers ride (very cool), but was terrified by it (I had her take off her 3D glasses). Be ready for lines though - we never did get on the Jurassic Park Rapids ride.

Adventure Cove wave pool

Moving on indoors (and still paying), the SEA Aquarium is another Sentosa attraction and is fascinating. Kids and adults alike sit in front of the largest tank and just marvel at the sea life. We then round back to Gardens by the Bay - the domes (are they indoor or out, really?). The waterfall in the Cloud dome is nice, but I really like the Flower Dome. They do different themes throughout the year - we've seen the tulips and the mid-autumn displays. There's a cafe (expensive), and the escape from the SG heat is almost worth the entrance fee.

Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome Tulipmania

Near the Gardens is the Art Science Museum. It is really pretty, with a nice water feature. We've seen the Lego exhibit (very cool, and Boy is a Lego fan), the Mummy exhibit (a little creepy for the kids, and Mom, but the 3D movie and the activity kits were nice), and the NatGeo photo exhibit (really nice). More adventures to come!

Nozawa Onsen

The second family ski trip finally happened in 2013! In 2011, we went to Whistler as a side trip from Vancouver. This year, we decided to go to Nozawa Onsen with some friends during the spring term break in March. I really enjoy visiting Japan.

Nozawa Onsen

Nozawa Onsen is near Nagano, host of the 1998 Olympics. It's a 6h flight from SG to Tokyo, followed by a 6h car ride (we chartered a van from Chuo Taxi for our group of 8). We had a couple rest stops on the way. I was really impressed with the Japanese rest stops - the ones we stopped at were clean, had warm food, and at least a small grocery. There were vending machines that dispense warm canned drinks!
We stayed at Villa Nozawa, which was very nice. Our family had a two-bedroom arrangement with an ensuite bathroom. The adults had a bed and the kids slept on the tatami in their own room, which they thought was fun. We did find little beetles sometimes in the bedding, not gross - probably just them keeping warm. There was a fantastic dining area for breakfast (french toast, eggs, pancakes, japanese - different things each day - yum) and hanging out. I think they had themed parties on some nights, but we were usually too tired to join. It was a very family-friendly place, kids running around, and the hosts were so helpful with our various adventures that week. First thing they helped with, the morning after our late night arrival, was ski gear.
We didn't do so badly with the weather. It was actually pretty warm already - we could hear the rush of melting snow everywhere. We all got a bit sweaty in our ski gear under the sun the first few days. Then the weather cooled down and we got fresh powder! Very pretty.
Okay, I'm not a ski fan. I was hoping to get away with as little skiing as possible. The kids had a blast though. The other 3 adults were competent skiers, so I volunteered to share a ski coach with the 3 older kids for a couple mornings. Girl (3yo) was placed in a childcare for the two mornings, which she resented, but was necessary while we got the other kids started. The first day, I found my shaky footing. This being my third try, it's not as intimidating. Boy (6yo) had a harder time than the other two initially, but soon found his ski legs as well. He'd gone to ski school in Whistler but probably only threw a lot of snowballs and drank hot chocolate. By day two, we were all good on the ski lifts and the kids were flying down one of the gentler slopes - forget zigzagging, let's see who can get down the fastest!
Then it was time to help the Girl, who by this time was refusing to be left out of the fun. We did get her to ski a little. There were 3 adults watching 4 kids, while I tried to manage on my own. Once, Boy didn't get on the ski lift properly with the other kids and one adult. They let them go on his own! So it went - breakfast, ski, lunch, then I rested with Girl while everyone else skied a little more. Then a break, followed by dinner.
Food options were good. Yummy, basic food on the slopes. We all enjoyed the pizzas, curry rice and ramen noodles. For dinners in town, we had Italian, Korean BBQ, and Japanese, of course. Our favorite was Wakagiri - this family-friendly Japanese restaurant with pretty and tasty food, where we sat on the floor. The main dining strip is a little bit of a walk from the hotel, but not too bad. The village was quiet and peaceful, I guess no longer in peak ski season.

Wakagiri dinner set

 One regret was that we only tried the onsen once. There was actually one right behind the hotel and we often saw people heading to and fro. We finally got up the courage to ask about a family-friendly one our last night there and the whole group hit it. Furusato No Yu was excellent as there was a cooler pool and an outdoor one. After a good soak and a yummy dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant, our kids passed out and it was the only time we had to take a taxi back to the hotel.

Furusato No Yu

We then had a nasty turn of events. I didn't know this, but Boy had taken a tumble during the afternoon ski. The group was skiing through a snow park and instead of avoiding a small jump like Hubby instructed, which the other kids obeyed, Boy went flying and landed on his head. Luckily he had his helmet on. He was very tired that night and when he woke up shaking, Hubby told me what happened. We then monitored him and took him to the local doctor in the morning. Local doctor sent us to the regional hospital for a CT scan. The scan turned out fine and we continued to the airport. The cherry trees were starting to bloom. I have my doubts about the next ski trip, even if Boy seems to have learned his lesson, and both kids occasionally ask about it.

Phuket

We decided to book a short last-minute trip to Phuket at the end of a busy summer, before Boy started school. I expected it to be very much like Krabi. We didn't do so much - just relaxed. One of the benefits of staying in SG is the proximity to many nice beach destinations.
We stayed at the Surin Beach Doubletree, which had two waterslides into the pool to keep the kids busy. We paid for a pool access room which turned out to be just a ground floor room close to the pool. It was a nice pool, almost lazy river-like (the water park attraction). We ate breakfasts and some dinners at the restaurant - quite ok.
The hotel location was actually quite remote. There were a couple other hotels close to it, and a few other restaurants. The beach was a short walk away, across a small street and park. A large beach club dominated the beach, expensive as it charged only full-day, all-inclusive (chair, towel, food and drink) rates. Too fancy for our family of four. Luckily there were a couple smaller outfits/restaurants along the stretch from which we rented beach chairs at a reasonable rate. We also had a nice sunset dinner at the Diamond Beach Club.
One of our favorite finds was Laem Singh Beach. It was a difficult hike down as I think we missed the easy path. It was worth it though - so pretty and relaxed. We left a little before sunset as the place didn't seem well-lighted - the easier path had welcoming mosquitoes. Caught a tuk tuk on the way back to hotel - another highlight for the kids.

Laem Singh Beach

 Other than one light shopping trip to Patong, a couple of massages and a mani/pedi for the adults, we didn't do much. The tours were a little expensive. Did manage to see an elephant on the roadside - that was our cultural experience.

Bali

Been wanting to write about this for a while, but hard to get myself to sit in front of a computer if it's not a workday...
Hubby's brother and fiance visited last November and we decided to take a trip to Bali. None of us had been before. It was going to be Girl's third birthday - the first one she had in the US, the second in SG, why not the third one someplace else? So she turned 3 in Indonesia.
I liked much about Bali. We chose to stay in Sanur because we heard that it was more laid back. If we had known that Kuta would anyway be quiet during off season, we would have stayed there. It just was a pain to deal with the traffic - Kuta would have been more central to the things we wanted to do.
Hotel isn't much to write about - it was okay. I liked the breakfast. Brother-in-law and fiance decided to have breakfast under a tree one day and some bug fell on them. Sanur Beach was nice enough - a few nice restaurants right on the beach. We celebrated Girl's birthday at one of these restaurants, owned by Ed's family.

Chilling on Sanur Beach

We met Ed when he picked us up from the airport. He seemed a nice guy and spoke good English, so we engaged him to drive us around. It turned out well. He took us on a cultural/shopping trip - batik factory, silver/goldsmith, wood shops, art shops. We stopped at a cafe where you could have kopi luwak - the cat poop coffee. The men tasted it, I think just for tasting it. The women and children watched in amusement. We had lunch at this nice place, surrounded by peaceful rice paddies. I really liked the fresh juices. We also visited the monkey temple, but I had to stay in the van with Girl taking a nap. Which is just as well, because I've heard that the monkeys were quite aggressive.

Batik factory

Kopi luwak production

Rice paddy fields

We spent another day on a snorkeling trip to Turtle Island. The snorkeling wasn't so good though, and Turtle Island was like a private zoo - other than turtles, there were snakes and birds. Donations were actively solicited from the visitors. We also stopped by a waterfall, but did not try to go swimming as it did not look like an easy walk to the water. Some tourist had taken the shortcut and dove down the waterfall. Boy asked why we didn't buy the trinkets from the boys selling them. I had to explain that perhaps we help in other ways, but we don't need trinkets.

Snorkeling

Waterfall

We had dinner a couple times at Jimbaran, simply because we liked hanging at the beach near sunset and then getting dinner right on the beach. The food was okay but the children liked the shows.

Jimbaran Beach

Bali was a lovely place - would love to see it again.

Tui Na

Yesterday, at Hubby's recommendation, I decided to try chinese massage. I'd been feeling achy for a few days. Not really a fan of massages (I prefer spa body scrubs), I figured it was just fatigue and I just needed to catch up on sleep. Toyed with the idea of a spa trip, and since the "spa" Hubby goes to monthly is so close, I decided to give it a try.

NatureCare seemed nice when I checked out their website, so I made an appointment. I arrived on time for the appointment, signed in and waited only a few minutes before a therapist brought me to the treatment room. I didn't much care for the subtle smell of food - don't know if it's the massage oil, really - nor the chat I can hear from the next treatment room. When the therapist climbed on the bed, I knew the whole thing was a bad idea. I expected more the western style massage experience - even the sports massage didn't have the therapist on top of you. She kneaded and worked my back and it started popping - ouch. I could've asked her to be gentler, I suppose, but I just grinned and bore it. The therapist seemed nice and chatted about this and that - I asked her the difference between tui na and massage and she said that western massage is more superficial while chinese massage is deeper and slightly achy. No kidding. She also started chatting about more personal stuff - as usual, people here make the leap from "hi" to "where do you live" to "do you rent or own" to "how much is the rent" surprisingly quickly.

After the session, I was served some tea and fruit. I felt quite relaxed, actually. Today, I am achy - Hubby assures there are no bruises, but the spots she worked are tender to the touch. I think I will go back to the western massage next time...

Legoland Malaysia

Boy is very fond of Legos. He wants them for birthdays, Christmases, and also buys them with his allowance. Mommy is a little tired of looking for, stepping on, and picking up Legos. It feels like Legos are quite pricey in Singapore, compared to the US. It doesn't stop people from spending on them. This past Christmas, we found this specialty Lego store at Great World City, and people were dropping BIG bucks on Christmas gifts. The Toys R Us section looked cleaned out.

With the recent opening of Legoland Malaysia, ads were splashed all over the place. So naturally, Boy requested to go. We arranged to share a taxi with another family, one that would be door-to-door on Sunday, October 14. It would be about hour and a half each way, taking into account immigration and traffic.

We had already been to the one in Florida, so had some expectations. I think the park does cater to adults too. There are coasters, and the Miniland is usually fascinating. The rides are similar to the European amusement parks to which I've been (Linnanmaki and Sarkkaniemi in Finland, Grona Lund in Sweden, and Tivoli in Denmark) and not too taxing. The one difference was that they did not allow parents to ride along with the toddlers on some rides - I was surprised at Royal Joust when the attendant blocked me from getting on and let Girl (3) on her way. Luckily, she handled this first experience (and subsequent rides) like a trooper. Boy and pal could not be dragged away from Build & Test (building and racing cars). Mommy enjoyed shooting stuff at Lost Kingdom.

Miniland

Build & Test

The facilities seemed to be still half functional (they were operating only one out of two machines for many of the rides). The restaurant process needed work - patrons were not routed efficiently. Probably growing pains that would be sorted out soon. We will likely make more trips. One thing we would do differently is to dine at the Mall of Medini before heading back to Singapore (traffic jam made for a late dinner).

School

Gosh...Boy is in Primary 1. It has not been the easiest journey. Being foreigners, we were the last allowed to register (in phase 3). Okay, we could have decided to send him to an expensive international school, but we want him to get the local experience. Don't remind me that if I had kept my citizenship and arranged citizenship for Boy we might have gotten into the primary school across the street from the house. At least we put him on the waiting list.

I was actually surprised how many foreigners were registering their kids in the last phase. I selected 2 closest schools with vacancies. It didn't really matter what time you arrived to register as the way it worked was that as long as there were more applicants than vacancies by the end of the day it went to balloting. The first school I went to I was handed a registration ticket number 80-something for 11 spots. I left immediately for the other, where I was number 18 for 30+ spots. There I experienced my first problem with information dissemination in this whole process - I was told I needed the parents' passports for registration. I had looked twice over the documents I needed and did not take "Parents’ travel document/Singapore NRIC/Entry or Re-entry Permit/Employment Pass/Work Permit" to mean I needed passports - I had employment passes. Don't the rest of the world read "/" as "or"? Summoned hubby to bring passports. Still plan to write a complaint to MOE. There ended up being more applicants than vacancies and we were fortunate to end up with a spot at balloting. Else we would have been assigned a spot at one of the remaining schools with vacancies - could have been anywhere.

I took Boy to orientation. The actual start time was earlier than stated on the invitation. When I tried to purchase uniforms, the sale location was different from the info supplied. All this misinformation made the process more painful and time-consuming than necessary.

So our weekdays start earlier to accommodate the 7:35am start of school. Boy enjoys buying food from the canteen, and his one-a-day soft drink allowance. Other than the early start, he seems to enjoy school. We are still thinking about after-school care arrangement, but for now he comes home with the school bus (stable times now after a rocky start - we declined the morning bus as the assigned pickup was 6:15) to the helper. We are still working on the routines, but it's nice to have one-on-one time when it's my turn to take him to school (okay, it's a lot of nagging - do this, remember that, don't do this...). When it's Hubby's turn to drop off, I get time with Girl. Not bad, not bad...

Krabi

In February, Hubby tried to convince me to take a couples trip, but I couldn't bear to leave the kids to the grandparents. They'd just arrived in a new land and were feeling a little displaced. Not that I don't trust my parents - they would've been fine - I was the one with the separation anxiety. So the solution was for all of us to take a trip together!
We took a short flight to Krabi, Thailand and stayed at the Mercure. The hotel was a little ways from the airport, but a shuttle picked us up. The staff were nice, but the check-in took forever. Things just moved at a different pace there. We splurged on a pool side room which was great fun for the kids.

Pool access direct from room

Took a couple of tours - everyone went on the James Bond Island tour, and Hubby, Boy and I went on a snorkeling tour. The James Bond Island tour included stops at a floating village and a temple. The traveling was longer than we were led to believe. We got glimpses into local life as we left from a little village by the water. The floating village was neat and lunch was pretty good. The temple hosted monkeys (we were asked to wipe our feet before getting back into the bus) and the caves with buddha statues were a little eerie.

Boats at the floating village where we were served lunch

Floating vendor

The snorkeling was closer but the water wasn't so nice. Still it was fun to hang out. At one stop, there was a cave full of phallic symbols and I was glad Boy didn't notice. At least he didn't ask. We had picnic lunch on the beach (more monkeys) and fresh fruits on the way back.

Swimming spot

Fertility temple?

None of us had been to Thailand except Hubby, so it was interesting. I guess a resort area like that doesn't represent Thailand so well, but it was an easy family vacation. Food was very touristy, and pretty expensive, which was disappointing. One of these days the couples trip will happen.

Singapore - making it home

Market stall near our place

Neighbourhood near our place

So we have been in Singapore for 8 months now. Routines have been worked out. Kids go to full day childcare. I go to work and hubby splits time between home and office. We have even engaged a live-in helper, local style. She helps with the kids, keeps the house clean and prepares meals. Just because of this, I may never want to leave Singapore.

We finally take the kids to see the merlion

Boy is settled, I think. He only occasionally talks about going back to Florida. He goes to taekwondo once a week, but still misses Master Kwa. When he plays with the local kids, he adopts the Singlish accent - very cute (but a little annoying). Actually, I probably do that a little too, at work. Colleagues say it sounds funny, so I should stick to my American English. Then when I speak Mandarin, I sound like I'm from China. Can't win here - apparently I will be foreign anywhere I go...is that what the kids will face?

Taekwondo class

Girl seems to be growing so fast. She is proud to be able to reach the elevator buttons for going up, down, and to the first floor. She seems to miss Florida a little, saying occasionally that she wants to go to "Merica". She is in a Disney princess phase and choosy about her clothes and shoes (already!). Both kids are speaking more Mandarin - I am amazed at their progress.
We haven't done so much on weekends, but are trying harder. Now with a helper who can watch Girl while she naps, we took Boy to watch Ice Age 4 last weekend. We've had friends over (from Finland too), and playdates. Again, it's starting to feel like a normal life. One of the things the kids really like is to go to Palawan beach at Sentosa. There are sand, water (including water play features), playgrounds, and a food court! Not the prettiest beach (with cargo ships in the horizon), but an easy day out.

Palawan Beach at Sentosa

From the Palawan food court - fried carrot cake, sausages and hash browns

Another treat is Chili's. There are a couple of them in Singapore, and it feels just like you're back in the states. The kids like that their meals come with ice cream, and there is a toy store next door where Boy gets his monthly Lego installment. All the comforts of home.