One of these things is not like the other!

Thank you to the Porter family for sending DAN to Singapore!! Our family enjoyed 2 fun weeks with Dan. We played and played.

For the record Dan is tall really tall. Spencer is pushing 6ft!!

Dan got some fun comments about his stature here in Singapore.

Fishing! It is fun to fish anywhere.

Dinner!

What happens when you send 4 boys off on their own to explore Singapore? Not very many pictures is what. Punks!

Random

We really enjoyed the Broadway Musical, "Lion King". It was incredible!!

I just loved how the kids were all huddled around in this picture. It wasn't anything particularly special. Just a fun everyday memory. 

Surprise, someone got an IPAD.

We have little gecko lizards everywhere. We call them all Charlie.

They are pretty cute, but can leave 'messes' on the wall

Thaipusam

I first became familiar with Thaipusan when at 16, in Mauritius, my parents and I watched in awe as people pierced themselves. I wondered if I would feel any differently 20+ years later in Singapore. It is an unbelievable experience and I felt eerily similar both times. I think the pictures speak for themselves. OUCH!!

These are the offerings that they carry on their heads.

Preparing for the pilgrimage to the Temple. (a few miles)

They leave a mess when they are done. People come in shifts. When a shift is over, they clean the whole area before the new shift arrives.

Julie, Mindy, Jocelyn

(thanks to Joce's husband Spencer who took 3 crazy ladies out at 1am to watch the festival)

Julie and Joce in front of an apparatus that one man will later carry.

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City

Yummy Prawns. Prawns are a lot of effort if they are not already peeled.

We really enjoyed the food in Vietnam and it was Cheap!! Especially compared to Singapore Prices.

Grilled Squid.

We visited the Cu Chi Tunnels (<--click for more information)

This picture was on the way to the Cu Chi Tunnels.

I took several pictures along the way but the further we went, the fewer pictures I took. I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness.  In the center of the site, there is a place where you can shoot all types of guns. I kept hearing the gunfire in the background while imaging the terror of war. It was more than I could handle. By the end of the tour we were all very somber.

 

Disguised entrance in the middle of the jungle floor.

Barely big enough for a Vietnamese Man to fit his shoulder through.



Ho Chin Minh City Traffic. We loved it!

I loved all the balloons on the back of this motorscooter. I am always impressed with the amount and diversity of things that people are able carry.

Christopher negotiating in the market. They loved him!

Sardines? Or, us trying to fit into one taxi.

Jordan and Christopher sat in the front and the rest of us squished in the back.

We really enjoyed Vietnam. The people were wonderful and the scenery was incredible.

Phu Quoc Beach

We flew into Ho Chi Min City and then flew to the island of Phu Quoc,Vietnam. It was a nice relaxing beach vacation.

We rented this boat for the day to do a little snorkeling and water fun.

Syd and Me

Ethan

Yummy Snack. This was our first experience with 'fresh' sea urchin and it was YUMMY. We all wanted more. Who knew we would love this spiny little creature so much.

Fresh Fish? This little place had all kinds of fish, sharks and various other creatures. You pick what you want and they package it up for you and off you go to lunch.

  Adam and Christopher

Adam was fearless. He jumped from the top of the boat without even a hesitation.

Christopher

Preston

Ethan

 Spencer

Jordan

 

This nice lady came by several times selling us these nice crispy sesame chip tortilla

Our beautiful beach!

This is the ultimate sand castle!!! They kids and Dad spent a good portion of the day creating this masterpiece. The Colosseo

 

We left the airport in 2 taxis on the island of Phu Quoc. I am pretty sure Christopher shows our taxi guy the hotel name. I have no idea where we are going. Christopher goes in one taxi, I go in the other. After an hour on dirt roads where I literally had to close my eyes several times to avoid screaming out loud (pick any number of scenarios to facilitate imagining this- my favorite was wondering who was going to win the game of chicken with the dump truck on the one lane of paved road) Spencer is no help in this because he is a natural conspiracy theorist and is sure our Taxi driver is going to take us to his village and eat us. Okay so maybe I exaggerated a little, he just pointed out that we had only turned left 4 times and we were going to end up back where we started. Christopher is no where in sight. I have limited money. Ethan has my phone. The language barrier is unbreakable. We are seriously in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains. I do know that our hotel is supposed to be on the beach. After a few more left turns and evidently some down hills we arrive at a hotel. We pile out of the taxi and at this point I am trying to not have a full out panic attack. Finally Christopher pulls up in the other taxi, so if we are lost, it is together. We weren't lost and our hotel turned out to be a quaint little hotel right on a lovely beach!