Aussie x 2 & Home Visitors x 3!!!

It's that time of year again when it's so hot you can't even bear to stand and wait for the bus without creeping behind a pole, wall or in the shadow of a tree leaf to find some relief from the shade.

I have been very delinquent on the blog, looking back at my last post I was writing about events in February and now it's June, shame on me!

I should start with my trip to South Australia, it was wonderful. A group of us from Singapore made the journey about and 8 hour flight to Adelaide and then drove the Great Ocean road to Melbourne which we did in about a week, stopping at wineries and beach towns along the way.

We started our trip in Adelaide and headed up to McLaren Vale for delicious wines. One of our friends on the trip is from Adelaide so we got to meet up with his friends at the winery which was fun to hang out with locals. It was heading into Aussie winter so it was nice to need a sweater and not be sweating to death :)

 After McLaren Vale we headed to Barossa Valley; the O'Malley'd did some major planning and we had gorgeous house rentals in each stop. This was the patio in our Barossa house. The wines here were amazing too, it was so great, I think i drank enough red wine for a year, or ten.

 Making wine, on site at the Rockford Winery. The tastings are free in Aussie and they call the area for tastings the Cellar Door. So you just pull up to the wineries and head into the Cellar Doors for the tastings. The prices were very reasonable to buy wine, unlike in Singapore where a bottle of Barefoot costs $25 USD, ouch!

 Great view from Murray Hill Winery.

 Wynn's Estate in Coonawara

 Sunset from the patio in Warrnambool, this was a really cute town that reminded me of South Haven or something along those lines, it was fairly quiet since it was winter...50 degrees.

 Along the great Ocean Road, this was Bay of Martyrs

 The 12 Apostles, reminded me of the Goonies :)

 My favorite stop along the way, Lorne. It was an adorable beach town and as you can see we had a great view of the ocean. This is a big surf town but since it was 'winter' it was pretty quiet.

 These huge, beautiful, scary birds just fly around town and hang out on the patio.

Water fall at Erskine Falls, the walk back up was a work out!

 Bells Beach

 I love kangaroos and I can't believe we got to see this lil joey jump in his mom's pouch! This was a major improvement from the first 'roo I saw, which was road kill..depressing...

It was an amazing trip that ended in Melbourne which is a major city in Aussie land. I didn't know what to expect but it was a beautiful city that reminded me of San Fran with lots of hills and cable cars, great shopping and food. They even had a target!!! (although slightly different from Target as we know it bit still better than shopping here :) The trip was amazing but, the one thing I would leave people with: that the Great Ocean road has a lot of farm views, so if I was in charge I would call it the Great Road with some Ocean Views.

I don't even know how to summarize having three friends from home visit at once, we had the time of our lives, well I did! I will share some pics. (many photo credits go to the Duffey's!)

KOC's first dinner in Singapore, we took her out for French food, why not, the Mexican place was closed! 

Coupla besties hanging at my pool while I was at the old grind....work.

Tourists enjoying the beautiful colorful bridge in Robertson Quay

The Duffey's enjoying a few local brews

Singapore looking all dressed up at night

Boat Cruising

More boat cruising

Marina Bay Sands Pool

O'Malley's splish splashin'

Matt Duffey and his fancy photos of MBS pool at dusk

We made is to Thailand

Sunset Cocktails

Mobile Absolution: Walk up to a monk with a Buddha on the back of a pick up, for your daily blessing

   Beautiful water in Phuket

 Chilling before dinner at the hotel

                                     

The Bennihana of Phuket; he had some mad skillz

 Day trip to the Phi Phi's, look at that water!! #nofilter

 Crazy Songkran aka Thai New Year's. It was a 24/7 water gun fight and it was crazy!

 We ventured out into the madness, it took less than 5 seconds to get 100% soaked in water

I think this picture sums up Songkran in Thailand, doused in water and red lights a blazing.

To give you a live view of Songran, here are a few videos. 

Note the guy on the far right...

Erika and I venturing out into the street, there are water guns and people that smear talc/chalk all over your face, but it smells good, so there is that!

I should mention that it was after a delish thai dinner that we decided to let our hair down and partake in the fun! Apparently there was a water shortage in Thailand this year, you would not have known it if you saw what was going on. None of us had any idea what we were walking into when we decided to pop into town to shop around,  and I am quite sure we won't forget!

It was an absolutely amazing trip!!! I was so sad to let them go. I wish I could transport all my people over here to share in these amazing experiences but I guess that's part of the journey. Thank you for making the journey Katie, Erika and Matt XOX

So much Aussie in so little time.  Just after the Chicago crew left I headed back to Australia this time to the West side/Perth for work. Perth is a very wealthy town b.c. there is a ton of mining business there. So while you would think you could get a decent priced hotel room it's hard to find one under $300 b.c. the mining companies have to pay to have their staff stay there as they usually work 3 weeks on and 1 week off. Perth was beautiful: the weather, the food and the people. I looked at my boss after sitting at lunch one day and said, everyone here is so pretty men and women alike and he said, I was thinking the same thing. It was strange. 

You don't realize how much you miss Western things until you turn on the TV in your hotel room and see this! I clapped and cheered I was so excited. Frankly, I 'd probably clap no matter what country I was in if this came on tv, but we don't get these gems in Singapore.

Another Target!! As you can see the font is different and there is a . at the end of Target. but I'll take it. As they say in Singapore 'Same Same, but different'

This is the version of target we have in Singapore, can you understand my excitement now!

 Freemantle is a cute little town about 20 minutes from the Perth business district that had a lovely market with fruits, food, coffee, and local soaps, etc.

 The famous Cottesloe beach, it was gorgeous, the water was an amazing blue that I was not expecting from a 'city' beach

 Surf's up

 Really beautiful and New Orleans type architecture in Perth

 All the major 'to do's' in Perth. For a business trip I checked a lot off the list. The main attraction to head back for: Margaret River. It's a wine region about 3 hours south of Perth and I have yet to meet someone that doesn't absolutely RAVE about it.

Here are the videos I tried to upload on the last blog that were locked!

Myanmar, crazy circus to get to the Ferry:

The cleaning brigade at the temple in Yangon:

Stay tuned for many pics and fun stories from my sister Molly's visit! I have quite the trip planned and can't wait to see Cambodia & Vietnam!

Love you all and enjoy that summer sun that I can see finally came out.

Traditions & Traveling

Happy New Year!!!

I am sorry I have been absent so long! It's been months since my last post! I do have to say thank you to all my friends and family who sent me Christmas, New Year, etc cards, I loved them all and confession...they are still up on my book shelf!

Although it snowed like crazy and was colder than I can ever remember, there is nothing like being home. I had such a jam packed, fun filled trip. It wasn't until I got back to Singapore and celebrated Chinese New Year (CNY) that I realized just how much I love all our traditions at home! Especially this one:

Love having tea at the Drake with the girls and doing some shopping, although while crossing the street it was so cold I thought I might give up on life and lay on the side walk

I could go on and on about my 3 week trip home but you were all there for that, so I don't think I need to do a recap. I flew back to Singapore in a middle coach seat with a sour face the whole way...the new travel policy crushes my soul. It was very nice to get back to the warm sunny weather, I can not tell a lie! 

I didn't blog for a while b.c. it was pretty dead here when I got back, but then CNY rolled around and town came to life! CNY goes on for 14 days but you only get 2 days off work, boo! CNY is truly the Asian's Christmas. This is when they celebrate with family along with friends. Christmas is more of a celebrate with friends holiday b.c. they don't really do that whole thang. I went to my first CNY lunch with work. The place was 100% packed and I think I was the only non-asian. The first dish is the one that everyone mixes together and all the ingredients have a meaning; the olive oil is to represent a smooth year ahead, sweet sauce to represent love, etc etc and after the dish is blessed you all mix it up together. Fun! (and the only dish i really wanted to eat!)

Crispy Pig Skin..yum

Giant Fish...get lost  

 The grossest desert on the planet. Yam's in what seemed like Karo syrup with a slice of pumpkin...i was excited for the pumpkin but the Yam ruined it ALL. It was served again at another event I went to and I politely declined!

The crispy pig skin wasn't my thing, nor was the giant fish. Although my co workers loved eat you are to eat all the fish, even the bits by the cheek...eeeeeeek

My second CNY dinner was with work and it was quite similar food but the party was much bigger and they had the traditional Dragon Dance. I have deemed the Dragon Dance the Jesse White Tumblers of Asia, they drive around town, dancing and jumping around and then get back in their van to go do the next gig elsewhere! Here are the Dragon dancers showing up at my condo:

It's the year of the Horse and I wish I took better pics but here is China Town with the TONS of Horses they decorated with! I think the gold coins mean good luck. 

Here is a traditional Dragon Dance.

After all the CNY buzz dies down people start to get back to work. So it was time to head off to Bali for work and fun! Of course!

I had been to Bali before but had not stayed in a villa, very rustic chic I will say. It was uber chic but the bathroom was 100% outside and I thought I might get eaten by a snake when I went out there! 

In Bali there is a beach club called Potato Head beach club and we hit it up, it was such a fab day at the beach, does this scream heaven!!! Cheese with a view!

Bliss

After Bali it was off to Myanmar for a conference. I was lucky I stayed at the only hotel that has decent functioning internet. I even met a woman who lives their with her husband for his job doing something for the British Government Security and she told me she goes to the hotel when she needs reliable internet. She also told me Yangon is known as a hardship post, while I loved it there I can see that...I would not want to live there. 

I like the bathroom signs, the men wear Longyi's which are like sarong's so they def need to be clear on the bathroom doors. The ladies don't always look that fancy!

Outside the hotel there are many street vendors selling food, books, maps, SO many maps, but not of like how to get around town these were giant laminated maps of the country...I asked someone why these are being sold and he said 'so you can get around'...cool I know that this town is north and I need a plane to get there, I'll buy your helpful map!

So much fruit!

Before the food truck, there was the human food cart.

 Tea time in the road gets busy!

The most famous temple in Yangon is the Shwedagon Pagoda. It's enormous and very beautiful! However, I did find it strange that some of the temples had florescent lights coming out of Buddha's head, new age, I guess? 

Cleaning the temple...they can try but my feet were still black!

After I spent a few days in Yangon for the conference I took a trip across the Rangoon River to see Dala. I didn't do much research, just went with the tour and I wasn't quite anticipating what I got...

So I crossed from the Red area over to Dala

If you ain't got no money take yo broke ass home! There are some places in Asia that prefer US dollars. For some reason the Ferry guy wanted USD for my ticket. The tour guide had a crisp $5 bill. He purposely brought a crisp bill b.c. if you have anything else here it is 100% useless, the guy still would not accept his, only, reasonably crisp bill, luckily I had one! Phew!

Waiting for the Ferry, Jammed in a cage like place, sooo hot!

Annoying Chinese Birds that migrated for Winter...they were like out of 'Birds'

Dala is an area that is very antiquated, minimal electricity and running water, there are many monasteries and people living there and I can't imagine staying over night...However, I feel like these people feel the same about crossing the river, they are on board with their pace of life, I think?!

Crusing through town in his Longyi

Entrance to the Market

 Shopping at the market (when i read the brochure from the tour guide I thought I would be able to buy art and trinkets...not so much, think more along the lines of fish heads and grain.

 Fish heads, with flys! extra extra

 Listening to some tunes

 Coffee stop

 Getting around Dala

 That's my tour guide and his bike driver, I was behind him

 This is town!

 This is a road in town

 A nicer home...

1st floor coffee shop, 2nd floor tea, 3rd floor wedding receptions...efficient use of space!

Coupla high school kids fixing the sign outside school

 Cows roaming all over!

 Fresh water must be retrieved at the wells

 This is the children's school, I am not sure the curriculum b.c. I just kept hearing kids yelling, ahhah

 Are you ready to have you heart broken, when I biked up to this building I said 'oh is this another school' to which I was told 'no this is an orphanage, all their parents are dead' punch! The saddest part is that it's very hard to even adpot these kids because human trafficking is such a huge problem. Ugh heart break

 The Orphans are looked after by the monks that live across the street.

 Next we went on to the candle factory...aka room...these 2 girls make 20,000 candles a day!!! I asked 3 times if he really meant 20k! The lack of electricity on the island calls for the need of candles. She makes candles all day, every day, like 12+ hours...

 My tour guide thought she'd like a picture, I am not so sure?

Kids heading out for some water. They were smiling and waving after I took the pic, wish I got a better one, they were very happy kids.

 Need a water break, these jugs of water are all over an you can stop and fill up the glass, have a drink and put it back (who is gonna wash those glasses...hmmm no thanks!)

Me and my bike driver, he is 23 and has no babies...the extent of the signing, English and Burmese spoken between us got us that far!

I know it's so wrong b.c. these people have no water, but I was soooo hot I ALMOST refreshed with my Evian spray. However, when you see toddlers walking a mile to get fresh water, spritzing your face with purified water you grabbed out of your Kate Spade purse seems a bit innaprop!

I will let you judge me for wanting to cool down, this was the walk back to the shit show ferry:

I am in LOVE with Myanmar and I can't wait to go back this was just one spot and there are so many more to discover throughout the country!

As I always say, I will get better at this blog, I do want to use it for my own personal journey as well as sharing with all of you! 

Stay tuned for.... St. Patrick's Day in Singapore, The Rolling Stones come to Singapore, Trip through Australia's Great Ocean Road and Wine Country, Friends come to Sing and we head over to Thailand!!! Whoo hoo March and April are going to be great! (it's almost been 1 year in Sing)

I encourage you all to look at flights for next winter!!! No coat/no boots party here in Sing Town!!

Sunset March 11, 2014 (no 4-17 inches of snow here!)

Lots of Love!!

Katy