Klimbin' in Krabi! November 10 - 12

Krabi offered a weekend of incredible scenic views, challenging rock climbing, and afternoons lounging by the pool. The best part is that we enjoyed all of this with our friends Nelson, Ted and Meghan, and Mitch and Leah.

We woke up to beautiful clear skies Saturday morning. After a short walk along the beach and a quiet breakfast we headed out and spent the afternoon rock climbing.

As neither of us have climbed in years, we started on a lower rated climb, but quickly caught up with our more experienced friends and attempted to tackle more challenging climbs- sometimes with success, sometimes…not…but always trying with a determined smile! My advice- never look down! You really don’t realize how high the climb is until you near the top. Just keep scrambling upwards, take rests when necessary, and always listen to the advice of your guide (who knows the wall like the back of his hand).

It was a very exciting afternoon and we now have a new interest that we plan to pursue while traveling (sorry mom- but rest assured, we’ll always do so responsibly).
We spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool (which looked over the beach), playing frisbee and as the day passed to evening, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
After a late night out, we were slow to rise on Sunday and decided against the original plan to rent a kayak. Instead it was back to the pool and to the salon for a neck, shoulders, and back massage.

The rain rolled in during our last two hours in Krabi- couldn’t ask for better timing- as we browsed local souvenir shops.

No doubt we will return to Krabi again and again for the beaches and climbing while we’re in Singapore.

Shanghai Surprise!! - October 27 -30

The weekend after Jay and Jackie left we headed to Shanghai for an IBO conference on MYP training courtesy of CIS. This was our first trip to mainland China and it definitely was much different than expected. It seems that capitalism has hit the People's Republic of China in a big way with large skycrapers, large shopping malls, and large amounts of pollution. Traffic is a huge problem associated with the large population - recent statistics has Shanghai over 14 million people within the official city limits making it the highest (known) populated city. The three most populous cities in the USA- New York City at just over 8 million, the city of Los Angeles at 3.9 million and Chicago's population around 2.8 million - are equivalent to the population of Shanghai.

The Government has systmatically removed large historical sections of the city and replaced them with large commercial and residential buildings with unique architecture and attention to detail. Truthfully, we did not have a lot of time to explore the city and supposedly there are a number of interesting areas and gardens within the city and a beautiful countryside beyond the urban area. The bulk of the time was spent at the conference in an area called Pudong. Both Angela and I agree that we learned a lot from the presenters and our peers during the sessions. However, it definitely is a challenge when the teacher becomes the student as our attention span waned near the end of each 90 minute session and towards the end of the day.

The conference ended on the Sunday and our flight wasn't scheduled to leave for Singapore until Monday afternoon. So we took the opportunity to do some shopping and seeing as 80% of all goods are produced in China (a bit of an exaggeration) we were told the prices are very reasonable and you can bargain for even better prices. We were there with two other colleagues and between the 4 of us we brought back to Singapore 5 sets of Calloway golf clubs complete with bag, umbrella and travel bag. A single set cost $230 SGD - about $170 Cdn. The clubs look and feel pretty close to the real thing as I compared them to a local shop.

Singapore Slinging - October 23 - 25

The week beginning Monday October 23 saw us receive our first visitors from Canada - Jay and Jackie. They are on an around the world trip starting with WWOFFing on New Zealand's South Island, and culminating with their wedding in Santorini - one of the Greek Islands. On their way to New Zealand the duo booked a two-day stopever for a quick visit. It was great having friends from back home visit but we really must learn to get the dates right as we mistakenly anticipated their arrival on Sunday morning at 1 am instead of Monday morning at 1 am. Fortunately, Singapore had a National Holiday to celebrate Hari Raya (Eid) during their time here so we were able to do a few local attractions with them. Seeing as Singapore was in a very festive mood our first stop was Little India and once again dinner at the Banana Leaf Apollo. This is our third time at this acclaimed restaurant and as expected it did not disappoint. To quote Jay "This is the best meal ever!!!" and to quote Jackie "You say that all the time!" They are the two most enthusiastic individuals and their wonder and awe with Singapore helped to remind us why the occassional homesickness is worth it. Little India was lit up with lights strewn across the streets as Diwali celebrations had just past. Literally, once you arrive in Little India you feel like you are teleported to the streets of Delhi, Mumbai, or some other Indian city.

The next day we decided to take a walking tour of the River and the Quays. For energy we visited our local Dim Sum eatery only to find half of Chinatown with the same idea for brunch. We patiently waited to be seated and the food was well worth the wait. As the only non-Asians in the restaurant we were treated very well and served up a delicious assortment of dumplings, seafood and crisp green vegetables (thanks to Angela and Jackie). From Brunch we wandered through Clarke and Boat Quay and into the Theatre District. Because of the Eid Celebration, the area was busy with local Revellers picnicing on the waterfront. Interestingly, Jay and myself were asked repeatedly to be in pictures with a variety of Malay women. One woman actually asked Angela "Can I borrow him (meaning me)?" as she excitedly grabbed my hand and prepared for a picture. We were all laughing so hard. Eventually we made it to Raffles where we celebrated Jay and Jackie's engagement and year long trip with our first Singapore Sling at the Long Bar!! Definitely a cool vibe, the Raffles Hotel and the Long Bar is a throwback to the colonial era in Singapore. We had one last celebration on a very busy Tuesday as we enjoyed an authentic Thai dinner with Ted and Meghan along with Jay and Jackie. Jay and Jackie departed early Wednesday morning for their nine hour flight to Auckland. We wish them safe travels and are looking forward to spending more time with them in the near future!!!