Southeast Asia cruise-Singapore/Malaysia

We made it to Singapore! Oh how I love this country. It's fun being back again, and this time without kids...hooray! Kyle and I took the trains down to Yokota Air Base, spent the night there and then caught a space A flight straight to Singapore. It was completely free and they gave us candy bars, unlimited drinks, three meals, and personal DVD players. After wards Kyle said that was the most luxurious flight he had ever been on because we were literally pampered and had a row of seats for each of u, the leg room was fabulous. Once we landed there was a big lightning storm so we had to stay on the plane for an additional hour and a half before deboarding. We didn't mind since the flight attendants kept bringing out the snacks for all 10 of us passengers on the flight. Keep the treats coming! We don't have kids to share them with, nor do we have kids to entertain. So we just relaxed and took it all in. 

Finally time came for us to get off the plane. We checked in and made sure we signed back up for a space A flight for our return to Yokota when we were all done, then we headed to our hotel. We decided to stay in the  Clarke Quay district in Singapore this time. It's right next to the big shopping Orchard district, but less expensive. What's nice about Singapore is that it's such a small country (in fact the whole country literally is just one big city) that anywhere you stay you are centrally located. The metro system makes getting around the city so convenient and nice. 

Our first day we were excited to explore the city that we love, but this time without kids. We walked and walked and walked, and the weather was beautiful. We first checked out the Clarke Quay area, then headed to China town. What was fun coming back was comparing this Singapore trip to the last time we were in Singapore back in 2015 when Kyle was TDY here and the kids and I came to visit him. Singapore was still Singapore, and we loved it! I can honestly say that Singapore is one of my favorite places in the world. There is so much to do and see, and the country is so clean and safe. The one down side to Singapore is that it is a very wealthy country and therefore everything is very pricey. There are some ways to get around the hefty price tag, especially when it comes to food and eating out. We usually opt for the local food markets called hawkers over fancy sit down restaurants. That way we get a smorgasbord of different types of food to try.

After China town we headed down to the Marina Bay area because I was determined to see the famous Merlion which is the symbol of Singapore. On our last visit here that was the one thing we never quite had time for but wish we had gone to see. So this time it was on our bucket list. The bay was beautiful, and I knew we were getting closer to the Merlion. We finally turned the corner to see the majestic statue, but were greeted by a giant construction enclosure. They were cleaning and repairing the Country's famous icon statue the week that we just happened to be there. NOOOOOOO! I was so sad, but it is what it is. I guess that just means we will have to come back again sometime to see the Merlion.

After Marina Bay we got lunch down by Raffels at our favorite hawker (giant outdoor market place with several nice food vendors form all over the world). We tried this delicious fresh lemonade made with sugar cane, fresh lemon's and cold water. It was just what we needed to quench our thirst on a hot day. We felt rejuvenated and decided to head out to Little India for some more exploring. This was Kyle's first time in Little India. For some reason Kyle has some weird phobia with Indian food and thinks it all smells like sweaty feet. He never wants to go to Indian restaurants, or anywhere Indian food might be because he thinks it stinks. I think it smells glorious on the other hand, and could eat curry and nan bread all day every day.

We had a fun time in Little India checking out all the vibrant colors, sounds, and smells that come with the Indian culture, yes, even Kyle enjoyed the colors, sounds, AND smells. We even saw their most popular Hindu temple which is beautifully ornate with hand carved statues all along the exterior building walls and roof.

Nigh time came and by this point we were pretty exhausted. I checked my watch and step counter and we had walked over 11 miles that day so far! We literally walked all over Singapore. Our last stop we saved for were the Super Trees down by the Gardens by the Bay. These avatar type trees light up at night and are so pretty as they create a beautiful glow all over the gardens down by the Bayfront. 

That night we went back and crashed. Tomorrow would be another day, a more low key day in which we would not walk 12 plus miles! In fact I let Kyle pick our agenda for the next day and he chose a beach day on Sentosa island. I had no complaints to that, so we went to bed knowing that the next day would be much more relaxing, exactly what we needed.

On day two we ate delicious Turkish Kebabs and were fed and ready for a lazy day down on the southern island. We took the Sentosa rail to get to the island and made our way to the beach. We rented a giant beach chair that was more like a lounging beach bed that fit us both, and literally lounged... all. day. long. It as nice to go jump in the beautiful ocean then lay out in the nice warm sun. We ate some delicious fish and chips on the beach and even did a little wondering on our way back to the rail to catch a ride to the mainland. Sentosa is a fun place for sure. The last time we were here with the kids we went to the aquarium and played at the beach. Sentosa is also the home to Universal Studios and some other fun attractions, however this time around we just wanted to veg and enjoy the beautiful beaches of the country that is literally warm year round because it's on the equator. Talk about prime location for warm water year round!

Our last day in Singapore we did some more walking around and even decided to go see a movie at the movie theatres. It's been so long since Kyle and I have gone to the movies since the movie theatre closed down on base in Misawa. So this was a real treat for us, we didn't even have to find a babysitter for the kids. We decided to go see "The Greatest Showman" since everyone was telling us how amazing it was. They sure were all right, it was a great movie! It has amazing music, a great overall message, and was a clean fun movie. Even Kyle enjoyed it and he isn't one to like musicals. On our way back to our hotel room we made sure to stop and eat chili crab. Chili crab is a traditional  Singaporean dish made with sweet/spicy chill and mud crab. The crab is literally cooked in a pot of chili and then we get to eat the crab and dip bread in the chili mixture. Words can't do it justice, it's amazing, but also very messy. Kyle and I were laughing when our waiter kept bringing out napkins for us and giant bibs for us to wear when the other customers (Singaporeans) didn't seem to be nearly as messy as we were. I guess it takes practice. It was a pricey meal, but we enjoy trying traditional foods and it was something we both wanted to say we tried. Boy are we glad we did, it was so delicious!

The next day we checked into our cruise and immediately realized that we were the youngest people on the ship by close to 20 years. I guess Princess Cruises really target the older crowds, when Royal Caribbean cruises and Carnival seem to target a more younger population. We didn't mind since Kyle and  I tease that we have old souls cause we like to do all the things that older people typically enjoy...food, going to bed early, pulp in our orange juice, you get the idea. We are not big party people.

We got a balcony room and were on level 10 on the ship. It was so nice to have our own private little space outdoors, definitely worth the extra money in our opinion. We also signed up for set dining which meant we ate at the same place, every night, at the same time, but the other people at our table were on a rotation. So we got to meet many nice people during our cruise at dinnertime. Each night we met someone new and got to know them a little better. We started making friends which made it fun for us to see them around the ship on days when we were just at sea traveling to our next destination. The majority of people we met were British, and I just loved hearing about their lives mainly because I loved to hearing their accents.

Our first port was Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. It's the East island of Malaysia, the third largest island in the world. The island is divided among several countries, and we got to explore the Malaysian portion. We signed up for an excursion to explore the different cultures and tribes in that region of the world. There we went to an area into the jungle where we learned about different tribes that still exist and their traditions. These Malaysian people are most commonly known for their head hunting sport. The tribes used to collect heads of those who they would fight, go to war against, or of those who trespassed into their villages. Each head was like a trophy that they would display in their homes for good luck. This tradition has since been subsided due to the Malaysian government, and these tribes are only allowed to keep head hunting traditions alive among themselves. It is illegal for them to hunt heads of foreigners, or anyone that isn't active in the local tribes.

Of course while we were exploring the different tribes in the area, it just so happened to down pour. Flash floods started coming and it was amazing to see so much water appear what seemed like out of thin air. Most of the houses and huts in the area were built up on stilts so that when the floods did come the water would just flow under their homes creating no damage. Besides getting wet, the rest of the day was fun checking out eastern Malaysia and their many different traditions.

Before we knew it our time was up and we were being shuttled back to the cruise ship. We would have another day at sea before reaching our next destination in Vietnam. of course I love the days where we get to travel and explore the different countries, but I am REALLY enjoying these sea days. Kyle and I sleep in, eat breakfast, layout on the balcony, read books, eat some more food, get some ice cream, check out the hot tub, eat some more, and then get ready for a fancy dinner that I don't have to prepare or clean up after wards. Yup, it's definitely nice this kid-less cruise life. I do miss my babies terribly though. When we are at a port near land we hook up to the local wifi with our new portable wifi router called skyroam. It syncs up to the local cell service to give you wifi via bluetooth, and all you have to do is pay $9 a day to use unlimited wifi. It's been great cause we can catch up on emails if we need to, connect to the cyber world, and more importantly FaceTime call our kids. 

They are having such a great time with grandma and grandpa Benham. On this particular day my heart strings were pulled as I noticed that Connor was having a hard day and he started crying saying how much he missed us. I told him how much I love him and miss him, blew him some kisses and told him to go snuggle grandma. When we hung up I just sobbed and sobbed. Oh how that was like a dagger to my heart. I wish I was there to comfort my sweet little boy. He is so sensitive and needs his mommy to help him. Thankfully later that day Kaye sent me the cutest picture of my boys playing in the bath. All Connor's tears were replaced with big smiles. If I can't be there to comfort him I sure am glad Kaye is! Best grandma of the year award goes to the magnificent Kaye Benham who can juggle it all and even makes sure to send pictures of my happy babies to me to ease my heavy heart.