Happy First Night of Hanukkah!

Singapore: Sentosa Island

After our stop in Kuala Lumpur we had a day at sea on the cruiseship. We relaxed, went to the gym & spa, played some games including more mini-golf, and had about five meals. We also played a very riveting game of Pictionary with some other people on the ship.

The ship docked early the next morning and we had one final day to spend in Singapore before our flight back to Hong Kong. We decided to visit Sentosa Island, which is advertised at the exclusive resort island off of Singapore. It didn't really end up being what I expected but we saw some pretty cool things there. To get there, we took a cable car ride over. It wasn't quite the breathtaking view of the cable car leading to the Big Buddha, but it was nice. Our cruise ship was docked under the cable cars so we got a nice view from above the boat.

We arrived and took the Dragon Path down to the beach area. We wanted to go to the Underwater World aquarium and figured we might as well see the island on our way there. There were some fun & some pretty cheesy things to see along the dragon path.

Is it just me or is it lame that they put the name of the fake waterfall right next to it? Doesn't seem very natural.

Dragon bones... um yeah, sure.

We reached the end of the path and found Underwater World. This was a very nice aquarium. They had a really cool tube where you walked through the the animals were swimming all around you. Some of the animals we saw...

And the most exotic of all..


Finally we made our way back to the cable cars to head to Singapore. On the way of course we just had to stop and visit with the daddy Merlion. He was huge! He and the mama Merlion make an add couple because she is about the size of his paw. Anyway, without futher ado..

So long Singapore and the whole Merlion family! We had a great relaxing vacation in this beautiful country.

Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur (a.k.a. France)

Our first and only port on the cruise was Kuala Lumpur. To be honest, I didn't really know anything about Kuala Lumpur until we booked this trip and Jodi sent us the hilarious video. I did a bit of research and found that the highlights are the Petronas Towers (tallest twin towers in the world) and Batau Caves. I signed us up for a tour with the cruise that covered both and we were very excited to go. Unfortunately, we were the only two people on the entire cruise who signed up for the excursion. Apparently most people were going for the shopping and signed up for other excursions. Oh well. We would still be able to check out the towers and some other local sites which all the excursions included.

Kuala Lumpur (to be called KL going forward) was about an hour drive from Port Kelang where the boat docked. First up in KL we stopped at the King's Castle. Malaysia is a democracy but the king is still around as a figurehead sort of like England. He has a pretty nice place to live and many many guards with scary guns guarding his gates. I was thinking of applying to be King of Malaysia.

Next up we went to the Chinatown market. I would have expected it to be the Malaysian market but oh well. We did some serious shopping & were shocked at what great deals you can get. We did some bargaining but almost didn't need to because prices were so good to begin with.

We drove around the city on the bus and learned a great deal from the guide about Malaysia and KL. Our next real stop was near the Petronas Twin Tours where we had a nice photo op.

Inside the towers they had a huge shopping mall. That was our last stop on the excursion. We were excited to see some familar food chains they don't have in Hong Kong. We actually had lunch at Chili's. What can I say sometimes you just crave food from a familiar chain. :-)

We didn't get anything at Dunkin but were excited to see it nonetheless.

Next up.. our final day in Singapore & the great daddy Merlion!

Singapore: Cruise time!

On Tuesday, it was time to board our cruise ship headed to Malaysia. Daniel and I love cruising! We took a fabulous two week cruise for our honeymoon on Holland America and then a one night cruise out of New York City right before we left for Hong Kong. This time we booked with Royal Caribbean. We'd like to check out as many of the cruise lines as possible and figure out which we like best.

Royal Caribbean might be at a slight disadvantage because we took one of the smaller ships in the fleet. They have just branched out into Asia and the port in Singapore is fairly small right now (they are building a new one that can fit the Queen Mary), so they are using one of their smaller ships. Its still a huge ship of course, it just means only two restaurants instead of eight or nine. Perhaps because of this, we were nervous that we might not get enough to eat and decided to stop for coffee drinks before we boarded the ship. I love this picture. :-)

After boarding the ship, we immediately ran around to check it out. One of the highlights of the ship for us was the rock climbing wall and mini golf course on the open top deck. We immediately suited up and climbed the wall. Since this was the first time for the ship in Singapore, there was a camera crew on board filming for the news. They took footage of Daniel climbing to the top of the wall! We weren't in Singapore to see the news that night, but Daniel may have been on it conquering the rock wall. After we finished climbing we played a game of mini golf. While I may have won this first round (Daniel would never admit that), we would have to wait for a later rematch to see who was the cruise champion.

Some cruise pictures (many of which involve food):

Next up we went to explore the buffet! That night we left the port at 9 pm and made our way to Kuala Lumper!

And for our cruise ship comparisons & rankings, we still feel Holland America is the best line. The two primary reasons being the food, the funny cruise director, and overall appearance of the ship. The fact that it was our honeymoon in the Mediterranean may have something to do with it too. :-) But we may have to keep exploring on future to be sure!

Singapore: Duck Tour!

On our second day in Singapore, we decided to take a Duck Tour. This wasn't originally on our Singapore agenda, but once we saw the Duck we just had to do it. How could we pass up the chance to ride on an amphibious vehicle? We tried to do a similar tour in Ireland a few years ago, but the Duck was full. So we couldn't let the chance slip by us again. :-)

The Duck Tour started by driving over to the dock near the Singapore Flyer and turning into a boat. We cruised along the Singapore River, where we did most of our sightseeing on the tour. We passed the famous Merlion, which is the symbol of Singapore. The Merlion was so thrilled to see us, he spit water at us as we rode by. We found out that this is the mommy lion. The daddy lion was hanging out on Sentosa Island. More on the daddy in a future blog post.

As we made our way up to the Merlion, we saw a larger number of white balloons floating in the water. The tour guide explained to us that on New Years, they fill the water with balloons (2009 balloons for the upcoming year) with the hopes and dreams of Singapore residents for the coming year. The balloons are on display and residents have a chance to write on them. We actually found a balloon at the Visitor's Center later that day. We wished for world peace and more chocolate. As my aunt pointed out on Facebook, not necessarily in that order.

We then went all amphibious and came back on land. Nothing much of interest except a building shaped like chopsticks. After the duck tour ended, we headed over to Clark Quay to see a magic show. JC Sum and "Magic Babe" Ning are the best known illusionists in the tiny city state of Singapore and we just had to see them! Many of the tricks we had seen before, but they pulled a few pretty cool disappearing and reappearing stunts. And they called on both Daniel and I to be volunteers during the show. This would be even cooler if there weren't 8 people in the audience all together. It was a packed house though.. there are only two rows of seats. I decided after the show I wanted to be called "Magic Babe."

After the show, we walked over to Orchard Street for some dinner and found a delicious Thai restaurant. It was a very long walk though and so I had to stop at the Visitor's Center for this:

Next up.. we depart on our Royal Carribean cruise and check out Kuala Lumpur. Woo!

Singapore: Night Safari

When we told people we were visiting Singapore, the first thing most said (at least those who had been there) was "you have to visit the Night Safari." According to their website, the Night Safari offers guests the chance to explore wildlife in a tropical jungle at night. The park opens at 7 pm, which is right around the time the sun sets every night in Singapore. Since they are located so close to the Equator, there is not much change in the sunset time. You can explore numerous paths & trails or take a trolley ride around the entire park to view the animals. They also have some shows and as we discovered when we visited, a pretty awesome food court.

Towards the end of our first full day in Singapore, we boarded a bus in the center of the city and they drove us out to the Night Safari. Since the park is only open for a few hours of the day, the attractions fill up pretty quickly. As soon as we arrived, we raced to the Trolley to take the park tour. Then we saw lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my! Just kidding. Although we did see two out of the three.

It was difficult to get pictures because of the dark but we were able to capture some great video clips. We were able to take a cool shot of the porcupines after their quills flared out. And if you look really closely in the second picture, you may see a rhino.

While some of the animals were behind a stone wall or a small stream to prevent them from walking up to the trolley, many were not. We had deer walking right next to us. Oh and this guy...

Just kidding. He was in a cage. And it a good thing because I would have run screaming from the park otherwise. After the trolley tour, we intended to see the animal show but the current showing was sold out. So we checked out the delicious food court I mentioned. We had yummy Cantonese & Indian cuisine and I decided to try a Singapore Sling. It ended up being the first of many. This is probably one of the best drinks ever! They were invented at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the recipe is below:

30 ml Gin
15 ml Cherry Brandy
120 ml Pineapple Juice
15 ml Lime Juice
7.5 ml Cointreau
7.5 ml Dom Benedictine
10 ml Grenadine

A Dash of Angostura BittersGarnish with a slice of Pineapple and Cherry

Not sure where I will pick up Angostura BittersGarnish in Hong Kong or New York, but I will certainly try.

After finishing our meal, we suddenly had a burst of energy and decided to check out the trails. That of course led to us wrestling a couple boars. Naturally we won. Then we made our way back to the bus and called it a night.

Our first day in Singapore was a blast and we couldn't wait to explore more the next day!

Singapore: Arrival & Exploration

Daniel and I just got back from a very relaxing and fun vacation in Singapore and Malysia. We left last Saturday night. We flew on United Airlines and for some reason we were put in "premium" economy which meant much more leg room. That was cool. The flight was about three hours. That is what is so awesome about living in Hong Kong. Singapore is just one of many destinations three hours or less from Hong Kong by plane. Our flight arrived close to midnight so the we basically made our way to the hotel and crashed.

The next day we woke up late morning and were ready to explore Singapore. I did some research before we left and found out that are two Synagogues in the country. That is more than they had in Ireland which is a much bigger country, so I think it was a pleasant surprise. We decided to check out the Maghain Aboth Synagogue, which turned out to be very close to our hotel. They also had a kosher restaurant where we intended to get lunch. We walked over to the the Synagogue and while we were able to look around we found that they weren't open for lunch for a few hours. It was a very pretty Synagogue and we took some photos outside.

We were getting pretty hungry so we decided to find another place to have lunch. And no meal would be complete without a hot chocolate. After this we were ready to do our really serious exploration!

The Singapore Marathon (which has only been around for a few years) was in progress as we walked around the city. We saw the runners everywhere. And finally, when we reached the downtown area/business district, we found the starting line. If we had known it was being held, Daniel says we may have participated. Whew, glad I missed out on that information. ;-) I'm still willing to consider the marathon in Beijing because you get to run on the Great Wall and that is just really cool.

After passing the runners, we walked towards the Singapore flyer to check out the attractions. We didn't actually want to ride on the flyer but we had other motivations for going there. I can't tell you now but our vacation video will explain it all very soon. We just have to finish editing it and then post it here! Quick fact - The Singapore Flyer is currently the tallest observation in the world. It will soon be the second when Beijing finishes building one.

We then headed to a nearby mall to book our tour for the Night Safari. The tour involved a bus that took us out there (located about half an hour drive from city center) and drove us back at the end of the night. The Night Safari is rated the number one attraction in Singapore and for good reason. It was awesome. But before we left for the Night Safari, we had some fun in the mall and took what may be the funniest clip ever on my camera. See for yourself..

We managed to stop laughing long enough to get on the bus and head to the Night Safari. Recap coming up next!

Mission Accepted

I've seen things, I've seen them with my eyes. I've seen things, they're often in disguise like carrots, handbags, cheese, toilets, Russians, planets, hamsters, weddings, poets, Stalin, Kuala Lumpar, pygmys, budgies, Kuala Lumpar. I've seen things, I've seen them with my eyes. I've seen things, they're often in disguise like carrots, handbags, cheese.

(Click the link [per Kelly's request])

Vacation!! Singapore & Kuala Lumpur!

After that blogging spree, Daniel and I are off on vacation for a week in Malaysia. We are heading to Singapore for a couple days and then taking a cruise that goes to Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully Jodi will post the awesome Kuala Lumpur video on the blog. :-)

We'll be back with lots of stories and pictures!

Now I've seen it all (Day 5) Back to the Buddha & Tai O

I couldn't believe when Friday was here and the week was almost over. We saw and did SO MUCH! It was so much fun. :-) Friday was a bit more relaxed. Daniel had to go back to work (boo). Adam and I stayed on Lantau Island to visit the Big Buddha & Tai O fishing village.

We started out taking the cable cars with the breathtaking view over to the village and checked out the Big Buddha. After visiting Buddha & having lunch at the local Tea House restaurant, we explored a bit of Lantau trail (which we had not done last time) and found the Wisdom Path.

The Wisdom Path contained these wood pieces with wise proverbs written on them.

These two say "Brush your teeth after every meal" and "Don't swim for an hour after you eat."

After a leisurely morning with the Big Buddha, we took a bus over to Tai O Fishing Village. This is a very run down village with lots of small markets and houses on stilts. Some call it the Venice of Hong Kong, but it in no way lives up to that. It was neat though and we took a short boat ride around to see the houses.

We explored the markets and walked around town for a while. We spotted probably a hundred cats along the way. Before heading out, we decided to stop for a pre dinner snack. Normally I dont take pictures of food, but I didnt want to forget this dish. It was fish covered in this creamy corn sauce. It reminded me of the corn nuggets at Cornell and I could not stop eating it. I know it looks pretty gross, but trust me, it was delicious.


We took a longer bus ride back to Discovery Bay where we met Daniel for dinner. We had sangria, margaritas, and long discussions about religion & afterlife. We had to say goodbye to Adam, which made us very sad. His visit was awesome and he is welcome back anytime!

Now I've seen it all! (Day 4) - Macau!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving in the United States. Since the holiday isn't a holiday in Hong Kong and there are really no turkeys to be found, we decided to be a bit untraditional and celebrate with Portugese cuisine and gambling in Macau. Daniel took the day off so it was the three of us exploring Macau. :-)

We set off for a ferry from Central Hong Kong in the morning. We were lucky to catch a ferry pretty quickly and it took us about an hour to get to Macau. Macau is a territory owned by Portugal until recently (much like Hong Kong was controlled by Great Britian) and is now a Special Administrative Region of China. While it is a beautiful place to visit that it rich with history, it has more recently become known as the Las Vegas of the East because of all the casinos. This included the largest casino in the world, the Venetian.

We arrived and started off with a late lunch. Adam tried a local favorite, the African chicken and Daniel and I shared an oxtail soup. Delicious! We had a ton to see and do, and explored much of the historical part of the city on foot until the evening. Highlights included (1) the "street of meat" with abundant samples of free pork cut off of sheets. I had an egg tart instead. :-) (2) St Pauls Cathedral (3) a very cool old fort where we aimed a cannon at the giant Lisboa casino.

St Paul's Cathedral

How did they get in there?!

Initially we planned to check out the Venetian and the strip of casinos that make Macau the Vegas of the East. However, we ran out of time with just one day to explore Macau. So we decided to head back to the Lisboa casino for some gambling fun instead because it was closer to the ferry station. We walked through another cool park (so many this week!) on the way to the Lisboa and Daniel took some great pictures of bonsai and even got involved in a little local game. We have no idea what it was but he had fun. :-)

We ended the day at the Lisboa where we won some money playing roulette and participated in a demo of Texas Hold 'Em where we were able to play against each other using funny money (the Macau money already looked pretty funny, but this money didnt have any value). Daniel was the big poker winner. He also won at the racetrack and roulette. He was on a lucky streak this week.


We headed back to Discovery Bay after a fun day exploring Macau. There is still much to see there so I have no doubt we'll be back again soon.