I LOVE how Singapore always goes all out with Christmas decorations each year. Despite being in the tropics, they really are able to capture the festive mood of the season with over-the-top beautiful and ornate Christmas decorations everywhere you turn.
I also love how Christmas time serves as a reminder each year to catch up with friends I haven't seen in some time. Life can get so busy during the year and months seem to fly by...especially living on the equator with no visible seasons to serve as time guides. So for me, Christmas has become my calendar alert that another year is coming to a close and to focus on the things that matter most in my life, my family and friends.
Christmas lunch with Bronnie
Takashimaya and Paragon department store Christmas trees
Secret Santa gift exchange friends
Lovely pre-Christmas dinner at Cliffords Pier
Orchard road Christmas lights
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Living in Singapore
The last time Kingsley's parents were in town we took them to Chiang Mai for a long weekend which they loved, this visit we decided to show them Siem Reap. Siem Reap is one of the first locations that Kingsley and I took a side trip to right after we moved to Asia and really fell in love with the spot. We haven't had a chance to go back for another visit together so this was a perfect opportunity. The great thing about Siem Reap is that it's small enough to explore over a weekend and really feel that you had a chance to get a feel for the place.
Highly recommended this Boutique Hotel that we stayed in for our weekend getaway:
Pavillion d Orient
'
The first night we had a lovely dinner at
Madame Butterfly, I would highly recommend getting the set dinner which came with a starter of tom yum soup followed by green mango salad, banana leaf salad, and a spicy beef salad. The main course was a red chicken curry with fresh fruit and sticky rice for dessert.
Touring Angkor Wat Temple
Tour guide
Ratanak. I would highly recommend hiring him for the full day temple tour. It is $70 USD for the day 8am-4pm. Ratanak is funny, engaging and very good at customizing his tour for the needs and interest level of his customers. We visited the top three temples in Siem Reap as well as enjoyed a lovely local Cambodia lunch at a restaurant near Banyan temple.
Delivering soccer goals that we brought over from Singapore to a small locally run community school in Siem Reap
Banyon Temple
Other restaurants we enjoyed during our stay in Siem Reap
Chanrey Tree - Cambodian food, lunch along the river. I had pomelo salad and green seafood curry.
Touich Restaurant - down a bumpy dirt road, not exactly on the beaten path, but food was truly amazing. Order the Sand and Salt Grilled Red Snapper and the Green Mango Salad.
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Cambodia
In December Kingsley's parents came to spend Christmas with us and to visit on their second trip to Singapore since we moved here.
Singapore has changed so much even in the last few years since his parents were here last so it was fun to take them to see a few of the new highlights in the city. One of the places we checked out in the first week they were here was the Gardens by the Bay Flower Dome. Spectacular and innovative, the Flower Dome is the largest glass greenhouse in the world as listed in the 2015 Guinness World Records! The Dome changes it's display of flowers and plants seasonally so we enjoyed the Christmas themed flower displays from the Mediterranean and semi-arid regions of the world such as South Africa, California, and Australia.
Despite opening in 2012, I have been waiting for the "right time" to explore the enclosed gardens and this felt like just the right opportunity. Everything about the Gardens is so well done, I would highly recommend making this a priority if you ever find yourself in Singapore.
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Living in Singapore
Kingsley and I attended our first ever Bollywood Christmas party in early December, complete with mandatory choreographed Bollywood dancing performances. It was so fun to get dressed up in pretty bright colors and enjoy some fantastic Indian food with friends. And the dancing was just priceless!
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Living in Singapore
Kingsley's work Christmas party this year was a 1950's theme so I had a fun idea to dress him up like a 1950's milkman and myself up as the housewife. Kingsley's costume was so good he was chosen as one of the top three finalists for best costume. It was a fun and memorable evening and fun to see everyone's creative 1950's outfits.
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The Nutcracker was showing this holiday season and the timing was perfect as my Mother-in-law was visiting so we were able to enjoy the festive seasonal ballet together. The Nutcracker performed by the Singapore Dance Theater brings audiences on a journey through the pre-WWI, turn of the century Shanghai featuring favorite and familiar characters including Clara, the Snow Queen, the Sugar Plum fairy and her Cavalier. Based on a story by E.T.A Hoffman, featuring the adventures of Clara after she receives a beautifully crafted doll from Dr. Drosselmeyer during a Christmastime celebratory party. This enchanting ballet featured a spectacular set and gorgeous costumes by local designers. Lesley and I so enjoyed the evening show and fell asleep that night with sugar plum ferries dancing in our dreams.
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Living in Singapore
Yesterday we watched the International Premier Tennis League at the Singapore Indoor Stadium featuring some incredible tennis players many of whom were ranked # 1 in the world at some point in time. The level that these players played at was just phenomenal, I was able to capture a hint of the skill level in the video below.
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Living in Singapore
Last weekend we said farewell to our friends Brian and Tess who are moving to New Zealand next month after spending the last 11 years in Singapore. Brian was a good squash buddy of Kingsley's so his presence will be missed around the squash courts at the Singapore Cricket Club.
Later in the evening, we enjoyed listening to the live music and watching the annual Singapore Light to Night Festival displayed on the facade of the National Gallery building.
Back by popular demand, the highly anticipated Facade Show had a successful display last year during the Gallery’s opening weekend. This time, Australian Spinifex Group’s spectacular projection show transforms the Gallery’s stately facade, turning it into a dazzling light and music extravaganza. From 8pm onwards, the facade of the City Hall building will be covered in luminescent paint, along with objects such as picture frames, paint tube machines, and art desks to create magical scenes inspired by the abstract artworks in the Gallery’s collection.
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Living in Singapore
Bali Bliss 2016 was another epic adventure. This trip has become our annual tradition with the
Temple Pilots, a group of paragliding pilots based out of Pune India. This year our longtime friend and paragliding pilot Ashley joined us from Australia. Due to Kingsley's work schedule, we only had a long weekend to spend with our friends but we packed more than enough fun and adventures into every minute of our time there.
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Bali
Though Mauritius was an incredible island to explore, my favorite part of the trip was spending time with some special friends from Kingsley's Universtiy years. Below are a few of my favorite snapshots from the week.
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Mauritius
Our first day in Mauritius we took the opportunity to dive at a beautiful dive site called the Aqarium. This was my first time in about a year so I was a little apprehensive about it, especially since the surface waves were fairly significant just above the dive site. I also had not done any diving in water that far south so it despite my 5mm wetsuit I was pretty cold, well actually freezing during the entire dive. But all of that was so worth it for the beautiful turtle encounter I had which can be seen in the video below.
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Mauritius
In mid- August Kingsley and I spent a week staying at a wonderful hotel and resort in Mauritius called the One and Only St Geran. It's located on the East coast of the island about an hours drive by road from the airport, the hotel occupies a private peninsula with golden sandy beaches. Of course, the views and the facilities are magnificent but more than that we felt immediately at home after our arrival.
Mauritius is an entire nation of immigrants, many of which are from India. Kingsley went to Universtiy with quite a few Mauritians who became his close friends. Thus our trip back to visit these friends was very special for Kingsley after all of these years. Creole is the informal language and is spoken in homes and between friends, but everyone also speaks English.
A good portion of the island is surrounded by an outer reef, which creates calm and piercingly blue lagoons for swimming and awesome water sports. We had a chance to kayak, water ski and do some amazing diving while staying at the resort.
Overall I would highly recommend this hotel as a gorgeous place to stay in Mauritius. I am hoping we can return to visit again someday soon.
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Mauritius
