Farewell Singapore

We are in the Singapore Airport waiting to board for our next country, Australia. But before we go we wanted to fill you in on the last couple days and also send some thanks. We spent these last couple days hanging out with Shars family, saying goodbye to Porpor, eating our favorite food, and doin very Asian things - karaoke and prawning (night shrimp catching)...freaking Asians. We also got the chance to go to stay up till the wee hours of the night as well as catch the Night Safari, which was awesome.





We are eternally grateful to everyone that made our stay in Singapore soooooooo incredibly pleasent. Especially, A. Lilian and U. Jeff, Phy-Phy, Steph, and Roy. May Jah bless you all for your kindness and generousity and then some more. Here are some pics

Thailand

On Tuesday we left for Chiang Mai which is northern Thailand . We headed to a very famous Buddhist temple - Doi Suthep which was on top of a mountain. After walking up a long flight of stairs, you reach a very picturesque, ancient temple. After, we got to get a glimse of the Chiang Mai people and there many crafts. We visited all the places where they handmake bamboo umbrellas, leather goods, precious gems, honey products, and silk products. We were also very lucky that our hotel was right by the Night Bazaar that had lots of shopping and food!!! The next day we visited an elephant camp. We got a nice long elephant ride...and saw elephants do the craziest things - play instruments..soccer..and even paint pictures. The next day we took a bus ride to the town of Chiang Rai where we got to visit the hill tribes. It was so interesting to see the villages and their different cultures. Each tribe has there own way of distinguishing themselves from the other. The most interesting were the Long Neck women. These women wear heavy brass rings around their necks from an early age which cause their necks to stretch. They share the village with the Palong who wear large brass discs in their ears. We found it most interesting that both tribes are both Christian and would have loved to experience worship with them. But we just got some great pictures. From there we headed to the Golden Triangle which is the point where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. Then we had some banging pernil (dont know how to say it in Thai) and headed back to Chiang Mai to get ready to fly back the next day. I (ob) just have to say that I absolutely love being on my own. It has been interesting to find new parts of myself that i didnt know. Not having the safety net of family and friends has made me look to the big guy upstairs more, rely on myself and also Shar. Honestly, at times its a little nerve racking but up until now Jah has had my back every step of the way, even tho things dont always work out the way we would have liked....shar losing her sunglasses, being left behind by the bus, riding the cable car 3 times (2 of which were for no reason), getting eaten alive by mosquitos in our sleep, having a 3 hour check-in, headaches from the obscene amounts of cigarette smoke....but were not complaining just looking back and laughing. p.s. Tio Abe you should really go to Thailand you would love the Elephant Camp...i was thinking about you a lot p.p.s. Titi Neri dont let him go...they have every kind of elephant thing you can imagine and it is all very cheap!!! p.p.p.s. Alaina, Jack talk thai, Jack talk thai real good

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Malaysia

We just need to thank God again for the way He works things out... Malaysia was an incredible and interesting experience. Its amazing how different Singapore and Malaysia are when only a narrow straight seperate them. We started out in Malacca which is an old port city that has been ruled by the Portuguese, Dutch and British before becoming part of Malaysia. Looking at some of the nice pics you wouldnt think you were in Southeast Asia. Plus, Shar has extended family/friends there who took us around town and brought us to the good food spots!!! Then we proceeded up tp Kuala Lumpur, the capital, to see the Petronas Towers. From there we went to Genting which is 'the city of entertainment'. It is perched up in the mountains literally surrounded by clouds. Go there if you like Starbucks, Casinos, cable-car rides (the longest in Southeast Asia and fastest in the world) and waiting for 3 hours to check into your hotel....OB gambled for the first time and lost all the money in less than 5 minutes! From there we returned to Singapore but not before being left by the bus at the Immigration station...but thanks to excellent public transportation we easily found our way home. Got back just in time to get ready for Thailand...

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Singapore Sightseeing

Singapore Skyline The Merlion @ Sentosa Shar told me to sit down for a picture....

CNY Pics

-Chinese New Year Festival....freakin Asians....


The new year is celebrated by eating and eating and eating and you get the idea.....

Duck Feet.....I highly recommend it, very tasty

Kung Hei Fat Choi...'Happy New Year'

Chinese New Year....what an amazing time to come to Singapore. We are continually amazed at how God confirms this trip. It is the perfect time to visit for many reasons: we are able to spend time with family, eat incredible food (fyi - Ob tried duck feet!!!), ushering the New Year at Chinatown (which is more crazy than Times Square...freakin' Asians...jk), and being that we are on such a tight budget..we have been truly blessed with receiving 'ang pows'. Traditionally, elders give ang pow, red packets of even amounts of money, to unmarried juniors to usher in good luck for the new year.

We have basically been immersing ourselves in the Singapore culture...riding public transportation...eating everything...playing majong...and soaking in the sun. We truly have had the opportunity to 'drink cafe in a new way' and we look forward for what is to come.

We appreciate all the comments. We know at least someone is reading. Miss you guys and look for some pics and videos soon!

Singapore

We cannot believe our journey has finally begun...we arrived at our 1st destination....Singapore! It is 82 degrees here and very humid..the 1st thing we did..was eat and then we took a dip in the pool. Singapore is a beautiful country and everything is state-of-the-art, freakin Asians...jk. Tomorrow is Chinese New Year's Eve so we are very excited for all the eating and hanging out with family.