Kingsley's friend and co-worker Rudy came to Singapore on an Amazon work trip.  Over the weekend we had a chance to spend some time with him.  We did a short walk around Marina Bay but in the afternoon it started raining so I convinced him to give the fish spa a try.  He was (rightfully) a little skeptical but was a good sport and gave it a try.





Later we met some friends for dinner at Blu Kouzina a Greek restaurant near Bukit Timah.

Then on to New Asia Bar to enjoy the stunning 360 night view of Singapore and for a bit of dancing.  It was ladies night which meant Jen and I got into the club free as long as we were wearing our masks (that made us look just a little bit like chickens!).  It was a fun evening of dancing - next thing we knew it was  2am. I seriously can't remember the last time Kingsley and I were out till 2am! Not sure if thats a clear sign that we are getting older or its just status quo after 5 years of marriage...nevertheless it was such a fun evening!

Kingsley had a work trip in Taiwan last week, in-between work meetings he found a few moments to snap some photos of Taiwan for me.


Bike Sharing stations. Taiwan became the first city in Asia to start a bike-sharing program in its two major cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung. Looking into a way to reduce pollution, the Taiwanese government launched the service hoping commuters will ditch their cars and start using the thousands of rental bikes it has stationed around the two urban centers to get to work.



Love this video that Kingsley took for me. Doraemon was one of the cartoons my brothers and I grew up watching in Japan.

As an added bonus, here is the link to the full Doraemon theme song lyrics, in Japanese romanji with English translation too!


Doraemons favorite food Dorayaki (being made in the video below) is a bean paste pancake sandwich. 

We celebrated Kingsleys 40th Birthday with a Seafood Banquet at the villa.  The villa staff laid out a beautiful table for us and spent the whole day preparing for the dinner.







The evening ended in the media room with a special surprise for Kingsley - a 30 minute video full of short clips from special friends all over the world wishing him a happy birthday.  It was an incredible evening and an unforgettable 40th Birthday for Kingsley.

The villa itself was also stunningly beautiful and immaculate. And I cannot say enough how cool it was to have our own pool and lounge space where we could swim anytime we wanted and play whatever music we liked.  I would say on average we were in the pool at least 2-3 times a day.  Before breakfast, late afternoon/before dinner and quite often in the wee hours of the morning as well.  There were games of chicken (Rooney and Bron were undefeated), throw someone/anyone in the pool, breath holding and (my all time favorite) synchronized swimming championships.  We had so much fun just goofing around and not having to worry about disturbing anyone or getting in trouble with security.

Here we are exploring Uluwatu temple.  Also, according to our driver, known as the temple of the "naughty monkeys".  The monkeys at Uluwatu are very desensitized to humans and have learned that if they steal things that the humans will give them food to get the item back.  Flip flops, sun glasses, hats, cameras...pretty much anything that is not strapped down will be taken.  The main MO for the monkeys is the ambush strategy.  They pick spots along the path where there is good cover and the path narrows and then go for it.  Kingsley caught them off guard with his Go Pro on a pole - they weren't sure what to make of the situation so quickly disbanded.


Photo of the group with no sunglasses (no one wanted to chance it) and Rooney holding a big stick to keep the naughty monkeys away.


This Chinese couple got married at the Blue Point hotel - post wedding we all stood and clapped for them as they came down to the pool to take some photos.  The guy was very friendly and shook the hands of all the guys as he walked by.  Everyone was congratulating him and he kept replying with (I'm guessing the only english phrase he knew) "thanks man".

They were doing some cool but slightly scary poses right on the edge of the infinity pool.  I can only imagine the drama that would have ensued had a drop of water landed on her wedding gown.

John and Rooney were both brave enough to try Luwak (poop) coffee and both were happy to say that item was finally checked off their bucket list!


This contraption is the device that is used to make the coffee.  Very scientific.








There is just something so special about Ubud.  This was my third trip to Ubud yet I don't think I could ever get tired of it.  I found it very fun to share some of our favorite spots with the group and everyone was incredibly patient with my role as the (sometimes bossy) tour guide.

Kingsley and I getting ready for a night on the town!  Yes he did chose this outfit without "pre-approval" from the fashion director/coordinator of the family.


For a special surprise at the end of dinner I had a "happy anniversary" dessert plate brought out for the special couple!

Post dinner and dessert we went a few minutes down the beach to the newest cool spot in town - Potato Head Beach Club.  We grabbed a comfy couch by the infinity pool overlooking the beach and chilled out with the music and the sound of waves crashing on the beach.  Of course it didn't take long for Kingsley and John to make a splash...




Overall it was a great evening with special friends and hopefully a memorable 10 year anniversary for Rooney and Bron.

Kingsley, John, Carly and I all arrived in Bali a day before the rest of the crowd so we could be at the villa before the rest of the guests and just to have an extra day to relax and enjoy beautiful Bali.


The Pan Pacific has beautiful grounds, lots of pools, great restaurants, a ping pong table and the best resort waterslide I have ever tried!


My first time trying snake fruit which was in the fruit basket in our room.  The outside of the fruit looks and feels like snake skin.  The inside of the fruit is the texture of a mango but is very sweet like a peach. Its easy to peel and not very messy, I would highly recommend giving it a try.


This had to be one of the most bizarre moments.  The Pan Pacific has "the best golf course in Indonesia" so evidently people come from all over to play at the course.  They also provide the golfers with girl golf caddies who wear matching sea green sweatsuits and were very sweet.  I can't imagine a more tedious job then having to cheerfully watch mediocre (at best) golfing in the hot sun pretending that you are interested in the game.






Beautiful sunset view from the main pool.


Look closely and you can see a little black dog preparing to fish in the koi pond at the resort.

Main lobby at the hotel had a beautiful infinity lotus pond that overlooked the Tanah Lot temple.