I have to give my parents a lot of credit, in two weeks we have gone all over Singapore as well as Indonesia and Malaysia. It has been so much fun showing them around and to their credit I dont seem to be able to tire them out.
Today we had lunch at an casual dining Japanese restaurant which my Dad rated as perfect 10 out of 10!
Tako yaki and zaru soba! Yum!
For dessert I bought a little Durian for them to try. My mom had a glass of fruit juice ready incase the taste was as bad as the smell. This sequence of photos should say it all...
My Dad ate the entire thing and said "it tastes like chicken!"
Before leaving Singapore I thought it was important that my parents experienced the fish spa. My Dad tried to back out at the last minute but I did not allow it.
It was so funny watching their reactions, I am very glad I was able to capture it all on video.
I have never heard such high pitch sounds come out of my mother.
so brave!
After the slightly traumatic fish spa event I took my parents for hand shaven noodles at the food court. Nothing like a great lunch to get your mother to speak to you again.
Great video of our lunch being made
We even saw our favorite segway drink delivery girl!
The second day in Tioman we went on a snorkeling day trip.
A small boat took us to Coral island about 20 minutes from the resort.
My parents, the very experienced snorkelers, gave Kingsley and I some tips on how wear the gear.
I know my mom is going to kill me when she see's this!!
Saw some of the most unique and beautiful coral I have ever seen as well as tons of colorful fish.
This coral was the most vibrant lime green color.
We ended up going to 4 different snorkel locations that day and probably spent 4 plus hours in the water. My parents were the last ones to get back in the boat when it came time to leave.
Lunch- butter and cheese sandwiches on wonder bread - was on a beach where we saw quite a few very large monitor lizards.
These guys can move FAST when they want to.
Spent the rest of the time reading, talking and relaxing on the deck at Juara beach.
On Sunday Kingsley and I flew home, my parents were having such a great time they opted to stay an additional day.
Astoundingly beautiful coral reefs and thousands of tropical fish in every color. Listen for Lynn yelping when the fish start nibbling at her. The monitor lizards on the beach were enormous and pretty bold...
I planned a weekend adventure trip with my parents to Tioman island which is a small island off the east coast of Malaysia. It's the island where they filmed the movie South Pacific. It was also named by TIME magazine as one of the top ten worlds most beautiful islands.
In preperation for our trip my mom insisted I take out her stitches (several days early).
She survived the experience (only just)
Part of the adventure of our trip to Tioman island was... just getting there. We took a charter bus from Singapore to Mersing, Malaysia which is on the east coast right on the water (3 hr trip) and then a ferry from Mersing to Tioman which is (2+hrs) and then a (25min) drive through the jungle to Juara beach resort on Tioman island.
We left Singpaore at 6am and had a chance to watch the sunrise on the bridge from Singapore to Malaysia. Since it was a Friday morning we got a glimpse of the Malaysian workforce heading into Singapore for the day. Lots of big trucks bringing the daily supply of fruits and veggies into Singapore as well as hundreds of cars and motorcycles.
About 20,000 motorcycles cross from Malaysia to Singapore everyday.
Part of the bus ride into Malaysia included driving through miles upon miles of Palm tree farms for palm oil.
After a highly adventorus but slightly longer than expected journey we arrived at Juara Beach Resort. A small spot on a beautiful white sandy beach, it is one of the only resorts on the east coast of Tioman island. The west side of the island is much more developed but I wanted to find a quiet spot so I chose the east side. Juara means champion or winner in Malay, it is the oldest village in Tioman and known by the locals as the most beautiful place in all of Tioman.
Last night was my Dad's birthday so we took him out for a very special Jumbo Seafood birthday dinner where he tried chili crab for the first time.
They were even given matching Jumbo bibs
Today my parents and I took a day trip to Batam island Indonesia. Sadly Kingsley had work meetings so could not explore with us. We took a 40 minute ferry ride from Harborfront marina in Singapore.
Singapore skyline taken from the top deck of the ferry, our place is located just beyond the photo to the right of the wheel.
Batam island skyline with their version of the wheel (a carnival ride)
First stop in Indonesia was the smiling Buddha temple.
I would be smiling too if I had 3 sets of snacks sitting out for me all the time.
It was amazing to see the difference between Singapore and Indonesia. Although only a short 40 minute ferry ride away, it feels as if you have stepped back in time 50 years.
A typical house in Batam
There are lots of road side vendors selling ice cream, sodas and rujak which is an assortment of sliced fruits blended with a very spicy chili paste. None of us were brave enough to give it a try, except perhaps my mom but she is on "adventure probation" after the finger incident.
Went for a drive across the island and saw lots of small fishing villages
For lunch we went to a great seafood restaurant and were served snails, pepper crab, cuttle fish and a whole assortment of other things. Best thing about the lunch is that it was amateur hour on the karaoke stage so we were serenaded with a mutilated version of Frank Sinatra's "I did it my way" among other songs.
We had a great day but were happy to return to the organization and cleanliness of Singapore. I have to say, it has been so much fun exploring with my parents. I know very few people who are up for as much adventure as they are. I can hardly keep up!
Here my Dad is learning to extract the snails from the shell via toothpick
My parents arrived safely in Singapore at 1:00am on Saturday morning. They brought 2 huge duffel bags of goodies from the States so it felt a little bit like Christmas! We stayed up till about 3:30am talking and catching up and then Kingsley and I went to bed. At this point my mom was still wide awake so decided to make a snack. She pulled out a knife and began pealing a pear and somehow managed to slice open her left index finger. Not wanting to wake us she made a makeshift pressure bandage using toilet paper and scotch tape and proceeded to go to bed. Early the next morning I noticed the bandage and insisted on looking at it which she fought, she kept saying "oh its really nothing Lynn, just a little paper cut" She had a major laceration that ran the length of her finger which I could plainly see was going to need sutures. So within the first few hours of being in Singapore I had to drag my mom (kicking and screaming...almost) to an ER to have 5 stitches put in her finger. The doctor kept saying "this is very deep, this is quite a deep wound".
Despite that early incident everything else has been great. They have both adjusted to the time change flawlessly and are laying by the pool reading as I type this.
First day we took them to Lau Pasat, one of our favorite hawker centers where they bravely tried BBQ stingray, hongkong noodles and fried kway teow. Note the white bandage on my moms finger!
Went on a river boat tour of Singapore. This is the Merlion- half mermaid/half lion a symbol of Singapore. The business district is behind it which is where Kingsley works.
Having fun in Singapore
Marina Bay Sands Casino which opened one week ago
Boat Quay is a great place to go for good restaurants and it is close to the business district. We were on a boat just like the one in the photos. The "eye" at the front of the boat is suppose to watch for bad luck.
Explored the Japanese gardens in Singapore which was beautiful but much too hot outside to walk around in the middle of the day. So we found a great Chinese Seafood place for lunch that was air-conditioned and relaxed.
China town- Buddhist temple
Large gold buddha
Any idea what this means?
Mama Goetsch serving up handmade noodles in Chinatown. The doctor told her to leave the original bandage on for 4 days. By day 2 she had already taken off the bandage and "downsized" to a large band aid. We also tried the homemade plum juice at the restaurant which was fantastic. Between my mom and myself we drank about 1L at lunch and bought an additional liter for the road.
She survived the experience (only just) 
Part of the bus ride into Malaysia included driving through miles upon miles of Palm tree farms for palm oil. 
After a highly adventorus but slightly longer than expected journey we arrived at Juara Beach Resort. A small spot on a beautiful white sandy beach, it is one of the only resorts on the east coast of Tioman island. The west side of the island is much more developed but I wanted to find a quiet spot so I chose the east side. Juara means champion or winner in Malay, it is the oldest village in Tioman and known by the locals as the most beautiful place in all of Tioman. 
