Singapore

(see map) - mike: Singapore, the smallest country in Asia, packs 4.5 million people into a modern, safe, and clean city. Due to British influence, English is the official language and spoken widely so exploring here is extremely easy. The population is comprised of Chinese, Indian, and Malaysian each with distinctive neighborhoods. Our hotel was in the "Little India" area.

We took to the sidewalk and strolled up Orchard Road, the main shopping area. Mall after mall line the street many with the same American and European stores. How locals decide where to shop, I couldn't tell you. One thing for sure is being an air conditioner salesmen here must be lucrative. Every store, restaurant, and hotel has theirs cranking at full blast, seemingly 24x7. The off button in our room was disabled!

Our first food court of many. They are quick, inexpensive (~$3 each),and clean.

Eventually we ended up at the botanical gardens. There was a soon to be married couple being photographed here. Her dress was less than conventional sporting knee high white leather boots.

For dinner we selected from dozens of local Indian restaurants. The food was great. I'm now addicted to Roti Prata, this paper thin pancake type bread served with curry dipping sauce.

The following day we met up for lunch with Eugene Lee (Spirent Account Manager), near Sim Lim Square, the Frys of Singapore.

The "Night Safari" is a popular destination as well. You can check out nocturnal animals when they are most active. Trin was particularly excited about these "mousedeer" we had heard a lot about. We expected a tiny Bambi that would fit in palm of our hand. To our dismay, they were more like a large rat with mini deer legs and antlers.

More food courts for lunch & dinner, it was a little overwhelming to select a stand.

Nearby Sentosa Island is an amusement park type getaway with rides and shows. Two huge casinos are scheduled for completion in 2010. We rode this insanely high cable car to reach it.

I admit, I was scared. Ski lifts I can handle, but this is 15 stories up!

The cable car stops at Mt. Faber Park before crossing to Sentosa. This is a great place to take in some city views.

Henderson Waves Bridge was built to link Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill parks .

Don't feed the monkeys! Though we didn't see any.

Raced Trin on the luge, this downhill engineless go kart thing. She won.

Harbor and city scape on the return ride. Singapore's port is #1 worldwide in terms of tons of cargo shipped.

Compared to the cost of food, alcohol is quite expensive. This 6-pack at 7-11 is on sale for ~$14.

We changed hotels to check out Chinatown. These beef jerky type shops are everywhere. Here Trin is demonstrating what she will do to an unlucky piece of smoked meat.

Day and night shots of Sri Mariamman Temple, the largest Hindu temple in Singapore.

Thian Hock Keng Temple is also nearby.

Our last night in Chinatown before heading north into Malaysia.

Bali, Indonesia Part 2

(see on map) - trin: From Gili we took a fast boat back to Bali and stayed in Candidasa "where doing nothing is doing something." - Mike Murphy. The town was a snoozefest but it served as a base to see the cultural sights on the eastern side of the island.

Our first stop, Tenganan, is the oldest village on Bali. The town makes amazing textiles called double ikat. If you ever visit this village, be prepared. The man who greets tourist at the gate for tours produces these textiles. He'll take you to his home and put on the hard sell. When you don't make a purchase he'll pout and reluctantly show you the rest of the village. Can you tell the experience left me a little jaded?

On the brighter side, we did see a ceremony performed by the young girls in the village.

Next stop, Pura Goa Lawah, a Hindu temple that backs up to deep caves full of unnumbered bats and snakes.

Our rented sarongs and sashes. Traditional Balinese dress is required to enter the temples.

Bats hanging on the cave walls near the entrance.

We also visited Pura Besakih located high on the slopes of Mt. Agung. It is know as the mother temple of Hinduism.

It is actually a complex of temples where the locals are guides on rotation. Our young guide spoke Indonesian, Balinese, English, French, some Japanese and Italian. On the days he doesn't guide, he is a farmer.

Climbing the temple steps. In one of the smaller temples we had an opportunity to pray, receive a blessing from a Hindu priest (a woman) and leave a small offering. We left with rice stuck to our foreheads.

Rice paddies on the drive down from the temple.

Tirtagangga, an elaborate water palace that was built on an ancient spring. The beautiful site is surrounded by rice paddies.

While most of the temple have been rebuilt with black volcanic bricks, the statues at the water palace are still limestone.

Taking the stepping stone path.

Sunset over the lagoon in Candidasa.

From there we headed to the opposite side of the island, Pemuteran. There isn't much of a town just a few resort hotels but it is an ideal base for diving at Menjangan Island, a national park.

At first, we were staying at the most establish resort which wasn't all that great but they thought they were. They wanted us to move rooms twice. So, Mike went on a mission. He found Adi Assri Beach Cottages a brand new locally owned and operated resort where the staff out numbered the guests and they were almost too nice.

Breakfast on the new front porch

Blog-athon '08

30th Birthday Dive Day at Pulau Menjangan. Java in the distance.

Mike resting between dives. He looks a little high on residual nitrogen.

Reading my birthday emails. Thanks all.

Ouch. A little present from the jellies.

The chef made me a beautiful birthday cake that read Happy Birthday Ms Trinity. They all sang happy birthday. It was all really sweet.

Gili Islands, Indonesia

trin: (see map) We spent a majority of our time on Gili Trawangan hanging out at Manta Dive. Shaun and Angela would complete their PADI open water certification while Mike and I just hung out and drank Sweats, an Indonesian re hydration drink.

There are no cars or dog on the island.

Local transportation.

The cats out number the humans.

Shaun and Ang were busy most of the days but at night we tried the different restaurants on the island.

An Indian restaurant on the beach where they offer different flavors of tobaccos.

There are certainly cheaper places to stay on the island but
the bungalows behind the dive shop were really nice and the location was super convenient.

Where are we diving tomorrow? Mike posing in front of the dive schedule board.

Shaun and Ang getting ready for scuba skills in the pool.

Mike and I departing on the small dive boat while Shaun and Ang prepare for their final check out dive on the shore.

PADI certified. Let's celebrate!

We headed out for some drinks around the town and ended the night a Rudy's Weekly Party. A highlight of the evening was dancing with a group of fifteen year old local boys who were so seriously trying to emulate 50 Cent. It was really funny.

The following day we saw Shaun and Ang off. They would spend the day on Bali before their flight that evening. Mike and I were not in a hurry to leave the island. So, we extended our stay for a few more days.