Lions and Turtles and Sharks, oh my!

Yesterday was a very relaxing day for most of the team with the biggest activity being the choice of lunch. They spent most of the day in our villa but not The Daddy who went scuba diving in the morning. Underwater, he saw a small lion fish, many hawkbill turtles, and a white-tip reef shark.

The shark was resting under table coral and swam away because of the half dozen divers crowding the coral. It swam towards me then veered off 3 meters in front of me. It made a wide circle to return home, hoping we had moved on, but we stayed to watch his return. Again, the 2 meter fish swam towards us and veered off when close by, looking at us with it's reptilian eye. Finally, the current took us further away and we suppose it returned to it's hiding spot.

The rest of the day was quiet R&R, mostly sleeping indoors to avoid the strong breeze.

More Snorkeling

For The Mommy's birthday, we decided to take it easy and just amble along the shore and snorkel all morning. We headed back to Diana's Cafe for lunch, which Pit started calling "by hanna's cafe" and snorkeled off shore in front of the restaurant.

The Daddy showed them some antler coral 3 meters under water surrounded by tiny fish that would hide if you came too close. The Daddy had to dive to show them this and the next thing both boys were un strapping themselves from their life jackets and getting ready to dive themselves.

Finally after lunch, we hired a horse drawn carriage to take us and our luggage to our next beach hut. Both horse and carriage are tiny. The horses are about as tall as a short donkey and more slender. The carriages are wide enough to let people to sit with their knees up to their chins or intertwined with the person  across from them.

Pit got the best seat in the carriage, up front, holding the reins. Somewhat distracted the driver didn't notice that Pit steered the horse off the main track and down a very narrow footpath through a coconut plantation.

We eventually made it in one piece to Villa Nautilus, a cozy 1 bedroom villa and a view of the shore. The beach on this side of the island has soft sand and we immediately spent an hour before dinner on the beach. Our hotel has a wood fired pizza oven so we couldn't resist having a celebratory pizza and beer feast. Happy Birthday!

Kittens, horses and turtles

Frunty's 8th birthday was special thanks to his sense of adventure. He had his eye on a boat anchored just in front of our beach and since we stated that for his birthday he's given experiences instead of gifts, he chose a boat trip for snorkeling.

Waiting for cooler sunshine, the boat picked us up at 4pm and took us just 500 meters north of our beach where we leapt into dark blue water far from shore. Frunty never hesitated and Pit was scared only briefly at first. Later, we can quote him as saying it was "Awesome!". We snorkeled looking for sea turtles but they're elusive and well camouflaged.

So we clung to the bamboo outrigger while the boatman trawled the waters. The Daddy was on point while The Mommy kept track of the two shrimps that alternating between grappling the outrigger in the water, riding the outrigger like a "dolphin" or pulling ahead to use The Daddy's back like a step to leap off into the open and catching hold of the outrigger before motor and current would leave them behind in the wash.

10 minutes later and some turtles were spotted. We spent some time observing them before fatigue set -n. So we clambered aboard, dried off and went full circle around Gili Meno. When we returned home, everyone was hungry so quickly changed into nice clothes and went to Diana's Cafe for dinner.

Diana's Cafe had dining platforms 1 story above ground. Perfect for staying away from ground heat and watching the view. However high our platform, it did not prevent four kittens, peaches and cream in colour to keep us company. Our dinner of tempe, urab urab, curry and satay was excellent.

Diana's Cafe was a short walk from the Sunset Gecko so we had to walk the short stretch in the dark. Actually, even just the half  gibbous moon was bright enough to light our path like a black and white movie.

The next day we would see Pit driving a horse to our next hotel, Villa Nautilus on the East shore. Stay tuned!

Sunset Snorkelers

Getting to Gili Meno was like clockwork. 6am wake-up call, 6:30 breakfast, 7am mini-van pick-up, 7:40 arrive at harbour, then pay and collect Blue Water Express boat transfer tickets, 8am departure. Some choppy waters slowed down the crossing, arrival 10:30. Met some other travellers and shared private boat transfer to Gili Meno: arrival 11am. Horse drawn carriage transfer to Sunset Gecko, our "Robinson Crusoe" abode for the next 2 nights. Check-in at 11:30, order lunch, served at Noon. Perfect!

Our bungalow is a bamboo structure 50 metres away from the beach, just on the other side of the donkey cart path. The ground floor has 1 bedroom and a large bathroom while the second story has the master bedroom with a sea view terrace and hammock. We unpacked and got into our bathing costumes before  commandeering a raised beachside platform, for the rest of the day, offering a reprise from the bright high noon sun and rough broken coral sand.

The boys donned their snorkel, mask and life jackets and jumped in immediately. The Mommy guided them 50 metres from shore to see corals and fish and later they trooped down the shoreline looking for turtles. To use Pit's words, he saw an aquarium full of fish. They took a break to dry off and play in the hammock for a little while.

Even though the late afternoon sun was much cooler than earlier, it was still hot enough to warrant a swim. The swim turned into an impromptu snorkel adventure and the boys swam off into the setting sun.

First Birthday of the Birthday Week

It could be said that Pit celebrated his birthday as soon as possible. After an airline delay from Singapore, a long queue through Indonesian Customs & Immigration, and a technical problem with the hotel room key, we found ourselves standing in the hall outside our room counting the 12 strokes of midnight.

Just after midnight on June 18 in Bali, we entered our hotel room and promptly ordered room service. We were famished, and Birthday Boy gets what Birthday Boy wants, especially if The Daddy wants it too! At 2am, we heard Frunty utter words we thought we would never hear, "Can you turn off the lights so I can sleep?" Pit on the other hand was in better shape since he napped between the airport and hotel.

Daylight broke 5 hours later but thankfully the Birthday Boy, born in the year of the Rooster, did not wake everyone until 9am. Oddly, we were famished again and so we rushed off to breakfast for a feast. Perhaps it's the plentiful fresh sea air or perhaps the rigours of travel, but we all stuffed ourselves with pancakes, fruit and yoghurt.

After brunch, the boys splished and splashed in the sea and the 3 different swimming pools scattered throughout the grounds. Our hotel is very attractively landscaped and decorated in Balinese style. Alcoves, nooks, fountains, and ponds abound. The boys fed the koi with our room service leftovers but finally had enough of the swimming. So, we moved indoors for some TV while The Mommy went for a spa extravaganza.

We met The Mommy en route to the "warung" where we ate dinner, a small local place with no more than 5 square tables. The owner noticed the birthday celebration and entertained us with his makeshift xylophone to play gamelin, traditional Balinese music. After dinner, we bought some snacks and gave them to local children as a way to share the birthday wealth that we enjoy that locals do not.

Tomorrow, our boat adventure awaits but it means waking at 6am! We'll take the boat to cross the channel where we'll spend the week on Gili Meno.  We'll be celebrating the next birthdays on the tiny island near Lombok.

Borneo Adventure

The three of us had an awesome time in Kuching, Malaysia Borneo. The only downside...our trip was too short. We enjoyed a boat ride looking for crocodile and proboscis monkeys but only saw the rare irawaddy dolphins in the South China sea. Super fun anyway. The orangutans at the sanctuary were really adorable, especially the two 3 month old babies. They are semi-wild and we are really fortunate that we could see them as if we had arrived 15 minutes later, we would have only see the trees shaking in the distance.

A highlight was taking a boat to a small village and visiting a kindergarten and primary school. Children in the village were shy but smiling at us. It was quite a nice and unexpected part of the trip. Our Harbour View hotel was really nice with indeed, a great view of the river. Across the way was a fun Lodge that we might consider next time called Singghsana.

I really wish I had booked more days to get a second chance at seeing wildlife. We can't always guarantee viewing them because of the weather conditions. The part of Borneo we were visiting had quite a bit of rain. Well we will just have to go back and next time we do, we would like to visit Bako National Park for some hiking and beach time.

In a few days, we are leaving on our next adventure. Stay tuned...

Borneo: Here we come!

Tomorrow the kids and I fly to Kuching, Borneo!! We are all quite excited. After a week of goofing around at home, in the pool, and doing homework we are happy to get a break in the jungles of Borneo where we will hopefully see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, fireflies and crocodiles. Papa may update you all on our discoveries as we relay them to him!

Once we get home, we'll have 5 days before we head out for our family adventure to some coral fringed islands near Bali. I know that the kids' classmates are at "tuition" classes this month and so I feel grateful that our family chooses to get out of Singapore and explore Asia a little. We are bringing our Kumon and Stilton novels to practise math and reading. That should do us.

Today we went to Sebastian Williamson's birthday party at Lilliput, Mini-Gold world, by the way. We met some really nice expats and a Canadian family from Nova Scotia. They have lived in Asia for the last 20 years though and had lots of stories to tell of their travels. Sebastian has some of the same dietary requirements as we do so even though I brought our own cake, Cundy had prepared a wonderful cake for our three boys and purchased sushi for them as a snack. How fortunate are we?!

Stay tuned for our next adventurous tale!

June Holidays!

We are now on June holidays and spending some days at home, relaxing, playing and doing homework before we head out on the Kuching Express next week! Amy left for the Philippines yesterday and who washed the dishes without even being asked...the kids!! And they also helped me prepare dinner...without being asked!! I am definitely very grateful that my kids are picking up good habits and things that we say to them get processed into their wonderful little minds! Actually most kids love to help if parents can put up with the job not always being done "perfectly!"

Tomorrow, Papa will take the morning off to come see Marmaduke with us at the Tampines movie theatre called Golden Village. We are looking forward to it.

It is so fun staying in our "jammies" and not having to rush off anywhere. That is a true holiday.