Kingsley and I took advantage of the long weekend over Singapore's National Day and went to stay at
Telunas Private Beach Resort in Indonesia. To get to the island you take the Batam Fast ferry from Singapore to Batam island in Indonesia, which takes about 40 minutes. From there you take the Telunas resorts private boat for 1.5 hours to arrive at the resort.
The resort proudly offers a no wifi experience which in today's day and age is actually a rare and refreshing find. The hotel has about 18 over the water bungalows which are beautifully decorated and maintained. There isn't any air conditioning in the villas however the contestant gentle ocean breeze kept the place cool.
I would highly recommend this place for an easy to get to weekend break from Singapore.
Kingsley and I tried Stand Up Paddle Boarding (SUP) for the first time at the resort. One of us got the hang of it pretty flawlessly, the other spent more time in the water than on his board! But we both had a ball and couldn't stop laughing!
Kingsley jumps off the jetty at Telunas Private Island from
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Telunas Night Sky from
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Indonesia
Neil and Kingsley were very close friends in school growing up in Johannesburg. And have kept in touch remotely over the years as both moved away from South Africa. Neil and his wife Amanda have visited us in Seattle once before many years ago and we visited them once in London. Though we only had about 24 hours together this time around, it was fun to show them a bit of our lives in Singapore and to catch on all of the events over the last few years. As often happens when spending time with lovely friend, we didn't have enough time together. Hopefully we can meet up again somewhere in the world one day soon.
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Living in Singapore
National Day 2016, its amazing to think that this is our 6th National day since moving to Singapore. Where has the time gone?!? This year is extra spacial as it is the first year that they are holding the ceremony at the new National Stadium (i.e. right next to our house). The last few weekends we have enjoyed the rehearsal fireworks from the comfort of our living room. It doesnt get much better than that. Happy 51st Birthday Singapore.
2016 National Day fireworks from
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Singapore's 51st Birthday from
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Living in Singapore
A few days after arriving back in Singapore from Seattle, my gorgeous friend Michelle turned 40. Though I was still in the midst of a jet lagged haze, I knew I could not miss celebrating her in grand style at Tanjong Beach Club. We had all the makings of an awesome party.... beautiful weather, temporary tattoos, squirt guns filled with vodka, a large rainbow inflatable unicorn and a bright pink birthday cake. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my beautiful friend!
Michelle vs Unicorn from
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Michelle vs Unicorn II from
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Living in Singapore
In early July, Kingsley and I did a two night guided kayaking adventure with
Outdoor odyssey
With our competent guide Nikkin, we spent two glorious days sea kayaking on Haro Strait which is the body of water that separates San Juan Island from Vancouver Island. This area is considered one of the world’s best orca whale watching sites. Resident orca's in this area are organized into stable, highly social matrilineal family groups called “pods” and labeled alphabetically as the J, K, and L pod. Known collectively as the “Southern Residents” they return regularly to the west side of San Juan Island during the summer months to take advantage of strong currents and optimal fishing for their favorite food source the Chinook salmon.
We were a bit nervous about our odds of seeing the orcas as our guide explained that no orcas had been spotted yet that summer which was highly unusual as this is typically the peak time to see them. The theory is that the salmon levels are very low this year which could be why the orcas haven't been around. I was also a bit nervous when our guide Nikkin informed me that my husband had chosen the "divorce" kayak as our kayak for the weekend! Evidently, the kayak he chose always tends to carry couples who fight with each other the ENTIRE time. Our last kayaking trip was a disaster in Vietnam where the rudder was "not broken, just not working" which led to- not our finest hour- as a married couple. So I was a bit concerned as we began this adventure, however, thankfully we managed to break the divorce boat curse and had a lovely time together in the San Juans without a single marital mishap.
Nikkin was such an excellent guide for the weekend trip. We saw lots of seals and seal pups, bald eagles and tons of other sea life. Through Nikkin we learned all about the San Juans and the biodiversity in its waters. We also were fortunate to see orcas whales both days of our trip. The highlight being the second day when we had a close encounter with one of the pods. Such a magical experience. Nikki also made the most AMAZING meals in our campsite dutch oven and even creatively catered to our fussy gluten free palettes.
San Juans 2016 from
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Seattle
Kingsley had a lovely tandem flight with Bakhtovar at Tiger Mountain in Seattle. I put together a little video to document the adventure.
Bakhtovar's Flight from
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Seattle
