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Published: November 19th 2009
Yes, we do love to travel. Any extra money we have is spent on airplane tickets, hotels, rental cars, etc... We own nothing at the moment, which is kind of nice. Well, except for an old Honda Odyssey, which my middle son is kind enough to keep for us during our stint overseas. Other than that, we have nothing but "photographs and memories". Wasn't that a Jim Croce song?
Last March we headed out to Singapore and Cambodia, which was one of the most amazing adventures we've ever had. First we stopped in the city/state of Singapore. It is a culturally diverse part of the world, where Arabs, Chinese, Indian and Malay, and western communities all live peacefully among each other. Granted, Singapore, for the most part it is a thriving, wealthy city, which always makes for happier folks!
We stayed with some dear friends from our college days while we were there, and got to experience Singapore with longtime Singapore residents, although we did make of the obligatory tourist stops, as well. We visited Hindu temples, Buddhist temples in Chinatown, at some great noodles and pepper crabs, visited museums, and hiked through lush, tropical parks
Asian Civilsations Museum
One of the best museums I've visited. Great for history buffs.hidden throughout the city. The Night Safari at the Singapore Zoo was a great. It was one of the best zoos I've visited.
Our favorite dining experience was on the coast at the Long Beach restaurant, where we ate the most amazing pepper crabs we've ever tasted. Well, to be honest, they were the FIRST pepper crabs we've ever eaten, but they certainly will not be the last!
After a few days of eating and drinking far too much, we decided we'd better get some exercise! Luckily, my friend Alison knows all the perfect hiking spots in Singapore. We decided to go to the MacRitchie National Park for a nice hike. It was a beautiful, tropical park, and we were surrounded by the beauty of the tropical rain forest, we could hear the wild animals all around us, and we were only moments from the city center. Right as we were about to cross the famous hanging bridge, where you can walk above the trees, a huge tropical storm changed our plans. They closed the bridge and we were stuck in the little guard shack for over an hour, which would have been fine if my 17
Mmmmm!!! The Long Beach!!
The best pepper crab in the world!! year-old son had not gone ahead of us! Yes, I was a little frantic, with visions of my son being struck by lightening, falling down a mudslide, being attacked by wild monkeys, well, you know how it is if you are a parent!! In the end, he was just fine, and after the storm we were reunited on the other side of the bridge!
On the way out of the forest, there was an even bigger adventure. Yes, only moments from the city, it is possible to be stalked by wild monkeys! They were following us throughout our trek through the forest. We only heard them at first, but after the storm, we saw them. They were swinging through the trees, making sure we were not setting up residence in THEIR home. Alison told me of the time she had been jogging through that same forest and was attacked by a one of those seemingly innocent, cute, tiny monkeys! I just couldn't imagine they would ever be aggressive! But, they were indeed aggressive. Our little hike turned into quite an adrenaline-filled adventure. But we got out of there, safe and sound, and with more wonderful memories!!
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