A great way to start the day in Phuket....

Every morning we were delighted to see the star "residents" at Laguna Beach Resort and Spa...2 sister elephants, one is 6 yrs old an the other is only 2.


They came to breakfast each day so we could feed them bananas.


The kids were free to have rides and they were walked all around the resort and pool area.




One afternoon, the baby one (her name was Sara -pronounced Zara) needed a water break, so Maddie and her handler took her for a walk to get a drink. Maddie walked the elephant like she was a puppy.





Sara was very friendly and had a very funny personality. She would try to take cameras, food, anything you had in your hands. She also loved to give wet elephant kisses to anyone she could get to. Maddie was lucky enough to get a good wet one on her shoulder...






The last day we were there, we found the 2 sisters on the beach so the kids wanted some last pictures with them.



I am a true elephant lover, have loved them since I was little-so this was truly a highlight from our vacation. More fun photos to come in the next post. We spent a day snorkeling all around islands in Thailand. Will post photos from that adventure tomorrow.

Our trip to Phuket...

Well, I took 254 photos...and now the problem is which ones to post??? I certainly won't bore you with all of them (even though they are all great).

Our trip to Phuket was FABULOUS! The weather was amazing, warm but with a wonderful constant breeze (and less humid than Singapore). The Thai people are so very friendly. The food was amazing and tasty (Madeline did have to eat a lot of pasta with butter due to the amount of things cooked with nuts, but she didn't complain a bit). The beaches were undisturbed and beautiful, and went on and on.

We stayed at the Laguna Beach Resort and Spa on the island of Phuket. It was great and so very family friendly. With 3 fabulous pools, with slides and a lazy river like a water park. They had a lot of really cool things for the kids to see and do.

Hotel view from one of the pools.

We spent time with monkeys, elephants, and lots of fish.....that coming up in my next post.

Headed to Phuket Thailand

We have done a few local vacations since living here, mostly in Maylasia, and have explored all/most of Singapore...so now we are headed on a vacation to Phuket Thailand in a few days.

It is only a 1 1/2 hour flight and we are really looking forward to it. We know a lot of people who have vacationed there and LOVE it, and return again and again. Planning on snorkeling in the coral reefs off of Phi Phi Island, exploring Phuket, and relaxing on the beach. Will update our blog next week when we return with photos. Bon Voyage! :)

National Dish of Singapore- made special for Maddie

Since moving here, Madeline has not been able to experience the cool "hawker centers"-the place where you can get traditional food from all over Asia for dirt cheap (and really really good). Due to her allergies, we have stayed clear of these areas-but she is always asking what some of the dishes taste like. One of these dishes is the national dish of Singapore...The Hainanese Chicken Rice.

A candidate for ‘national dish’, is it can be found in almost every street corner coffeeshop, hawker centers, hotels, and coffee houses in Singapore. Brought to Singapore by immigrants from Hainan, China, it has evolved to become the delicious Singaporean dish it is today.

I had to tweak the recipe for our liking and allergies, but Madeline and I made it tonight and it was really great and tasted very very similar to the ones in the Hawker centers. The typical recipe calls for a whole chicken (skin on) and uses a lot of fat to cook it in. I modified the traditional recipes I found and came up with the one below. If you would like to try our version-it is quite yummy and tasty with the ginger and garlic. The locals add the Chili Sauce or soya sauce when eating for more flavor and punch, but we stuck to the plain and simple. We served it with some fresh steamed green beans, it was a great easy dinner with two big thumbs up from the kids and Brian. :)

Sibley version of "Singapore Chicken Rice"

1lb boneless chicken breasts
1 scallion, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 slices fresh, peeled ginger (plus more for grating in rice)
chicken broth (I used one and a half cartons of Organic Chicken broth)
6 to 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped (and minced for rice)
4 cups long-grain uncooked rice
1 tsp fine salt

Optional: Mix together for Chilli Sauce
2 to 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, 5 tbsp finely chopped fresh red chilies, 5 cloves garlic, chopped, 3 tbsp finely chopped ginger, 1 tsp fine salt, 1/2 cup boiling hot chicken stock (what you cooked the chicken in)


Directions:
Pour chicken broth into large pot (reserve enough for rice). Place chicken with scallions, 2 cloves sliced garlic and sliced ginger into pot. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer just under boiling point and cook, covered until just cooked through, about 20-30 minutes. (I have a rice cooker, but if you don't just cook the rice on the stove)Take more chicken broth, uncooked rice, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and fresh grated ginger to the pot/rice cooker. Make rice as usual with replacing water with chicken broth. Once done, chop chicken once cooked and serve with steaming hot rice and optional chilli sauce. Dark soya sauce is also an ideal accompaniment (which we couldn't do because of maddie's allergies). Super easy and super good. Hope this makes sense, email me if you have any questions of comments if you make it at home.

A little bit of Singapore, brought to YOU. Enjoy!

Ambulance etiquette

I was sitting in a huge traffic jam yesterday on one of the highways. I knew there must be an accident coming up. Then I noticed that WAY behind me was an ambulance stuck behind all the traffic. His lights on. His sirens on. Sitting... waiting patiently with all the other cars/trucks/mopeds/etc. Yes, that's right. You don't have to pull over for emergency vehicles here in Singapore!
No one really pays any attention to emergency vehicles. I saw one the other day waiting to turn in an intersection, lights on, sirens on, and NO ONE let him turn. Isn't that just crazy????
I did some online "research" to figure out why no one pays attention to emergency vehicles here. I read this on one website:
"Remember that a lot of Singaporeans consider an ambulance nothing more than a rich person's ride to an expensive private hospital." And on the same page, someone wrote: "They do say that if you want to get to the hospital fast (and in one piece) here, take a taxi." Someone wrote that they actually witnessed a taxi passing an ambulance (with its lights on and siren blaring).
Thank goodness that we haven't had any emergency that would require calling for an ambulance, but I believe I might dial a taxi instead after what I witnessed the other day.

Kids trip to Little India

Madeline and Grant have been begging me to take them to Little India, so I took them the other day.

We got there first thing in the morning and explored Tekka Market, a giant "wet market" (like a farmers market) and witnessed the buzzing people getting fruits, meats, flowers, etc. Madeline did NOT like the meat section and quickly told me she wanted to go. She didn't seem to enjoy the frog legs, ducks with their heads on, fish, and chicken being cut up. :) She might end up being a vegetarian one day. Grant loved it and wanted to walk around the whole place.

We then explored all the stores and watched the fresh flowers being put together for the offerings they use in the temples. The wonderful smell of jasmine and curry were all around us. We went into a beautiful temple and Grant loved observing all the people and interesting statues of their Gods. He didn't want to leave, so we had to drag him out of it, and he asked if we could go to some more temples.

Maddie really wanted henna on her hands so we found a shop that was open. She got a beautiful peacock and flowers on her hands, and Grant got a really cool dragon on his arm. The black ink flaked off after 45 min and the ink then turned reddish color on their skin. It will stay on for up to a week, but swimming will make the color fade more quickly. It started to fade on the kids after 4 days and now they want to do it again!!! :)

Happy Birthday KIM!

This blog is dedicated to my dear friend back home in Windham....Kim.

Today (actually it was yesterday with the USA a day behind us) is her birthday!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!! Wish I was there to celebrate with you, torment you, embarrass you, and sing very loudly to you.


She HATES to have her photo taken...so the ones I have she is usually scowling at the photographer or not smiling, so here are a few I found from my birthday party (she made me wear a crown and she wore a boa).

KIM- we miss you so very much and we hope you have (had) a great Birthday! Sending you long distance birthday hugs and kisses~!

Highlights from Karol and Jerry's visit to us

Here are some photos of the Hippo Tour around Singapore from the first day they arrived. Jet lagged, they went around like troupers, and didn't complain once! :)




We live right near the famous Shangri-La hotel, so we posed Karol and Jerry for a photo.

We went to the Jurong Bird Park one afternoon and had such a fun time. It was one of the only places we haven't taken the kids here, and they loved it!! Such huge exotic birds throughout the park, but their favorite spot was where they got to feed the little Lorey birds.

Jerry made an instant 'friend' and it wouldn't get off of his shoulder.

The kids were nervous at first, but then loved seeing them up close and personal. They didn't want to leave!



We relaxed and swam by the pool, and Karol joined in on the fun!


Maddie certainly loves to be silly with her PopPop!

We celebrated Jerry's birthday at Cafe Iguana and surprised him with some chocolate goodness after dinner!

Here is the view from Sentosa Island-wish you were here!!

We had such a fun time when they came and we hope they make plans to come again next year (not sure Karol will be on a flight for 22 hours again, though). Hope you liked a little glimpse of our time.

Happy Easter!

It didn't FEEL like Easter today, as we were swimming and lounging by the pool-but the Easter Bunny DID come to Singapore! It felt more like July for us, not March. The Holidays still don't "feel" like Holidays for us, as we are used to telling which Holiday is coming by the weather and seasons of New England. That being said, we certainly enjoyed swimming on Easter Sunday. THANK YOU EASTER BUNNY!

Karol and Jerry come visit us in Singapore!

Karol and Jerry (Brian's parents) arrived in Singapore on March 8th and will have to go home on March 18th. Needless to say, it has been a great trip and the kids are sooo enjoying them being here. We are having a fun filled time, exploring all that we can fit about Singapore into the time they are here.

We started out the first day, Saturday, with a double-decker bus tour (called the HIPPO tour) around most of the island. It gave them a great overview of most of the highlights and cool areas. The next day we walked up and down Orchard Road to do a lot of window shopping, and then took Jerry out for dinner for his birthday at Clarke Quey (pronounce "Key") -it's a cool area with lots of great places to eat (and drink). On Monday they did a walking tour of an area that used to be spice plantations, called Emerald Hill, and now has great little houses that you can go into. On Tuesday we went to a museum (Asian Civilization Museum) and explored the Raffles Hotel area and had Singapore Slings!!!! On Wednesday we spent the whole day at the kids school, exploring SAS. They got to see the kids classrooms, toured the entire campus and then we ate lunch with Maddie. Jerry commented that the kids eat better there than at most restaurants (and it was a lot less expensive). :) We went to Chinatown on Thursday , which they enjoyed...lots of sights, sounds, smells there, and then we went into the oldest Buddhist temple in Singapore. Friday we went to a traditional "Hawker Center", like an outdoor food court with amazing food from all over the world. That afternoon we picked up the kids from school and took them to the Zoo and Night Safari. Yesterday we went to Sentosa, a fun little island attached to Singapore that has great beaches and things to do. Phew...lots to still see and do with only 3 days left!!!! :( Tomorrow we are exploring Little India, looking forward to it.

It's been great having them visit, as it also makes me more familiar with some areas that I've only been to once, or never explored before. :)

Here are some photos from this week.

Happy 6th Birthday Grant!

Grant turned 6years old on Feb. 21st! And his lost his FIRST baby tooth all in the same week....he is growing up so fast. He celebrated at school with cupcakes with his class, and that weekend we had a big Pool Party for him. It was so much fun and all his friends had a blast swimming for hours together. Happy Happy Birthday to Grant!

Chingay Chinese New Year Parade!

Traditional Lion Dance at Singapore Zoo

Kindergarten Chinese New Year Video

Chinese New Year Celebration at Singapore American School

Gong Xi Fa Cai! That is Mandarin for HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The kids school celebrated the New Year with a traditional Lion Dance, a parade through the school, and fun games/songs put on by the Chinese department. Brian and I went to Grant's parade and watched as all the Kindergartners sang a New Year song in Mandarin chinese. I have a video of it, and I will try to upload it later. So cute to hear all of them speaking/singing in a different language. It was a great celebration and both Madeline and Grant have learned so much about Chinese New Year, their traditions/beliefs, etc. Grant loves Mandarin so much that he is now enrolled in extra Mandarin language classes afterschool 1 day a week at school. It is so cool that they are learning a second language and learning about other cultures and beliefs. :) Happy Chinese New Year from our family to yours!

Madeline in the SAS Variety Show

Madeline in The Singapore American School Talent Show

Madeline tried out before Christmas for a Talent/Variety show at her school. It was for only 3-5th graders. Over 200 kids tried out, and only 93 kids made it, and we found out that Madeline made it a few days before we left for the USA to go home for the holidays. She was thrilled and excited! :) Her dance studio helped her choreograph a song that mixed Glamorous (by Fergie) and a song from CHICAGO the musical. Maddie worked very hard for 1 month to learn the dance for tryouts, and then worked very hard over the holidays to perfect it and memorize it. When the kids returned to school in Jan. they had about 10 mandatory rehearsals, and 3 of them were full dress rehearsals. The director, Donna Coughlin, was amazing and organized and taught the kids the "ins and outs" of a show. The kids became such good friends and had a great appreciation for what goes into a production.

The variety of acts that the kids preformed were truly amazing. There were kids who played the piano, comedy skits, solo singing, group singing, a kids rock band, dancers, violinists, etc etc. These kids were all so talented. A great group of kids. Not a "painful" show to watch either (unlike some of those dance recitals in the past-yikes) ha ha ha. A great mix of talents and truly truly talented bunch of kids. Madeline made some great friends in the process and feels more comfortable at this big new school she is at. :)

Christmas in Vermont

Christmas in Vermont with family

Upon arrival in the USA, after Madeline and I recovered from a horrible stomach virus, we headed to Vermont to be with Karol, Jerry, and Great-Grandma Gladys. They flew in from St. Louis to spend the holidays with us. It was so great to see them and spend so much time together. There was a TON of snow, but the kids didn't want to play in it (they've become wimps with the cold now).

Above you will find a slide show of some of the photos of Christmas in Vermont. The time flew by too fast, and they flew home on Dec 28th. We headed back to NH to spend time with friends and enjoy being back in the states.

Traveling home to the USA

On December 20th we headed home, a 20 hour straight flight via Singapore Airlines. We had a great, non-eventful flight. The kids were sooo good; watched movies, played games, slept and ate a ton of food! Singapore Airlines made the whole flight peanut/nut free for our little Madeline, and made her special food that was safe. It was so wonderful. They only slept about 5 hours for the whole flight, but they kept themselves busy so it didn't really bother Brian and I too much. We were thrilled to land in NYC and see SNOW!!