Sanur, Bali

It's hard to believe that it was exactly 2 weeks ago (almost to the minute) that Echo picked us up at home and took us to the inner harbour in Victoria for the beginning of our day of travel to Singapore.
The elasticity of time and memory is indeed a strange thing...
So here we are in Bali, at the end of our first week on this island, and our first of 3 places that we will stay. We've been in a really wonderful villa, a great place to relax after Singapore's hectic pace. The villa is not huge but is so well laid out -- 2 bedrooms either side of a covered but outdoor common living space that includes a kitchen, comfy furniture, a TV, and -- a swimming pool!!! We've swam countless times. Here is the original posting that we saw, that led to our rental:

http://www.homeexchange.com/show.php?id=88212

While we've been here, we've walked the beach, ate great inexpensive meals, played lots of Hearts, visited a 10th century Anamist temple, seen a fire dance, had a day with Savannah and Marius, and Catherine and Sierra have gone boogie boarding and done Balinese dance. Here's a fun link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZJbh7WnTHs

Tomorrow we go up into the hills and rice paddies for 4 days, in a place called Ubud. It's an artisan community, apparently with lots of natural beauty and natural food. Savannah will be ending her week with Marius on Sunday, and joining us then.

Accessing Our Photo Website

Here's the link to our pictures... There are 3 sets of photos so far, and we plan to create more along the way...
I hope they are easy to view for you!

http://flickr.com/photos/65515862@N00/

~Hersh~

Our week in Singapore is finishing today. Savannah had a great grad, and is ready to leave.

Singapore is a complex city of development, prosperity yet hard work and little leisure unless you are the upper class. Every cabbie except 2 that we spoke to drives every day of the year for 10-16 hours a day. They can't find relief drivers and can't afford to not run the cab for a day because they still pay the company on that day.

Food has been fabulous, and other than a few goods and hawker stands, most everything is smaller in size and costs more than at home. A tub of Ben and Jerrys costs 12 Singaporian dollars (about 9 Canadian)....I can see why Savannah misses food from home. After Indian food most days something "Canadian" would be great. They have one terrible "canadian pizza" here...and restaurants for all food tastes. Western food is expensive.

Local Singaporians are kind hearted...we have enjoyed meeting them in the 3 to 5 cab rides every day. There are 30,000 cabs here.

50 percent of the land is devoted to apartments and business buildings. Many areas for the Housing Developments have eating areas on the main floor where locals have inexpensive breakfast and dinner. The little rainforest they have left just got an 8-lane highway cut through it on one side and a condominium development on the other... They chose to protect some of this land because while developing it they realized it was a main water source for the island. As it is they import water from Malaysia.

The land planning document just unveiled yesterday is planning a 150 km circle bike loop for those who want it greener and...because too much green would be "boring" and "threaten prosperity"...they are developing local eating/working centers in every yet to be developed corner of the island in the next 5 years. It will reduce traffic congestion in the city core, but leave little land left for wildlife.

Overall, it is clean, hot, humid, busy, dense, fascinating, culturally diverse and oh so not green. Yesterday's newspaper said Al Gore was influenced by apocalytic fundamentalist Christian views and he doesn't have any credibility!!!

Trip Highlights:
Sunday--seeing Savannah looking radiant and touring her school. Meeting her amazing strong and self-assured international friends and family members. Taking in how independent, gracious, confident and mature Savannah has become. Swimming in the cool school pool while we withered in the heat.

Monday - Loved the orchids, insect eating plants and huge tropical trees at the Botanic Gardens. A wonderful dinner hosted by parents' of one of Savannah's friends.

Tuesday - Not so much a highlight as an experience of cramming through a popular department store in Little India (and getting just how dense Singapore's population really is!), Having a great meal at Banana Leaf Apollo on, of course, banana leaves, visiting a Chinese Buddhist temple for Vesak (Buddha's birth celebration), then buzzing to the other side of the city for dinner. There are over 6.500 people per square kilometer ( 9.27 people per square kilometer in Canada and 76 per square kilometer in the States).

Wednesday-Hiking in Bukit Timah. Monkeys! Lizards! Soaking in the views, lushness and sounds of the tropics.Ferns the size of trees. More plant diversity in this little park than the whole of North America. Coaxing Sierra to come along then bribing her with "you can ask me to do something I don't want to do this trip." Sierra doesn't forget a thing so is holding that card in reserve for when she can play it with gusto.

Thursday- Touring the city. The air is surprising clean. Tall Tall buildings.

Friday- The tree top walk at MacRitchie Reservoir. A giant spider... For the most part, visiting parks require a cabride with cabbies who has never been in the well marked, few in number parks (and one got us lost!)
Afternoon at VIVO City--a neuvo shopping mall that redefines mall architecture with open spaces that flow into the next and a rooftop wading pool and amphitheatre. Marche restaurant with super fresh fruits, vegetable and entrees. Sierra actually was given more whipped cream than she could eat (a rarity for her) on her Strawberry, chocolate and mascarpone cheese crepe.

A cocktail party with people from 8 countries.

Saturday- Grad! Enjoying Savannah enjoying a full celebration and being done. Getting to know some other parents from many different countries. Parents who are as amazing as their kids. Lovely warm outside air at 11 pm.

Sunday- Trying out the Seniors outdoor playground (outdoor colored exercise equipment) and anticipating Bali.

Ps. I have run for 10 minutes this entire week...no sun until 630 am then blistering heat...early outings to get ready for...no where to run except the roads with cars...yesterday I resorted to running up and down the stairs a few times (and that was 5 of the 10 minutes!).

Lots of Love
Catherine

Today was Savannah's graduation ceremony. There are parts of those ceremonies that I really love... the inspiring speeches. Today's was no exception. You know, just the piece of acknowledging the courage, wisdom, hope, and promise of what these kids will both bring to and take from the next phase of their journeys.

After the ceremony we went to a dinner with a bunch of Savannah's friends and their families at the Sheraton. (Pix to follow, hopefully in the next few days.)
On the way to the dinner, we called Ambrose, who is on campus in New Jersey, grinding away in the lab for the summer. It's his birthday today: so here we are, whipping through the streets of Singapore in a taxi, calling Ambrose to his cell from Savannah's cell, and the 4 of us are singing Happy Birthday to him. It was surreal, yet also completely ordinary. Somehow it had me remembering when Savannah's radius was just 2 or 3 kilometers: Howe St. to South Park to Barbara's art studio, maybe Moka House, and once a week venturing to Victoria Gymnastics.
Now, her radius is the globe.
Wow...

Tomorrow morning we will pack up and check out; then we will go to the school and help Savannah pack the rest of her stuff, box it, mail it, then tomorrow night we fly to Bali. I'm quite looking forward to (what I imagine) will be a slower pace. It's been a hectic week!
until,
Hersh

Our voyage

Hi folks, for those who may not know, we've taken our family show on the road. I'm just trying to get a blog off the ground, so here is a sample of it:
http://circlepacific.blogspot.com/
Our itinerary is:

May 17 – 25: Singapore

May 25 – June 11: Bali

June 11 – 15: Darwin

June 15 – July 13: Brisbane

July 13 – July 20: Fiji (Hersh + Sierra)

July 20 – 23: L.A.

July 24 – Aug 4: Toronto

July 13 – 27: Fiji (Catherine and Savannah)

July 27: Fiji - Victoria

If you would prefer to not receive photos/blogs etc, please let me know and I'll remove your name from the distribution list...
until then,
best
Hersh

2 more days in Singapore...

It's been a monumental 6 days, comprised of pavement pounding, rainforest canopy walking, light meals, heavy meals, animal zoos and human zoos. All of it fairly extreme in polarity except the heat: that only lands in one direction. (Well, come to think of it, Air Con is a nice counterbalance.) Tonight we will attend a cocktail party hosted by the family of one of Savannah's friends who lives in Singapore. Tomorrow is her actual grad. Sunday we pack, and that evening we fly to Bali...
Attached are a sample of pictures.
Cheers,
Hersh

ready... set... go

Finished work today