Singapore Day 1

Today is the first day of our R&R. I guess that you could say it technically started yesterday but I'm not counting it since all it included was an overnight flight and a baby who only slept for 2.5 hours. We arrived in Singapore this morning at 6:37. The airport was so nice and clean.  They have done a great job of putting plants throughout which just makes it feel even cleaner. We got out pretty quick. People here queue for everything and its all so organized and easy to navigate. When we left the airport, there was a queue for the taxis but families with kids got to go through the priority lane. No one wants to deal with cranky kids. We took a taxi to Tash and Suranga's flat. The drive was nice. The buildings are fun to look at with the different architectural styles and the trees are amazing. I'm not sure what kind they are but the trunks split towards the bottom and branch out to a canopy type top. Pretty cool.

When we got here, Tash cooked up a wonderful breakfast with eggs, bacon, and beef sausages!  It was very tasty. Then our friends were very gracious and let us take a nap to try and recover from the flight. After we got up, we headed and took a bus to a mall to pick up tickets and grab lunch. We then took a metro out to an art show that had a lot of really cool pieces. There were several I liked but my wallet didn't!  

We then caught a taxi to Level 33 which is a bar with amazing views of the harbor and downtown area. We chatted for awhile and enjoyed the views and balmy weather. 

Afterwards, we headed back to the flat to let Little Man take a nap before dinner. I will say the public transportation here is so easy to navigate and runs really well. They live right by a bus stop that has busses stopping at regularly. And they even come to a full stop - not the rolling "stop" I've seen in New Delhi!  

Today has been great. Everything here is clean and green. I didn't feel that bad when I caught Little Man licking the metro!

Tomorrow, we're doing a fun river cruise and who knows what else. We've really just enjoyed catching up with Tash and Suranga. India hasn't been the same since they moved!

1 hour 59 minutes

That's how much longer until Stewart and Little Man land in New Delhi.

How do I know that?

The internet.

The internet may be incredibly helpful.  Want to know how a song sounds?  YouTube.  Want to know what restaurants are in your area?  Zomato.  Want to know random information?  Wikipedia.  Sick? WebMD.  So many excellent resources right at your fingertips.

And then there's Flight Aware.

Guaranteed to simultaneously add more hours to your day and suck all your time out of you.

When I woke up this morning, my guys were boarding their plane to come home.  Yes, we do live that far away!  I checked several times to make sure that their flight took off.  At work, I checked again.  It was as if, by some miracle, the status of the flight would change from  14 hours to ... hmmm, I don't know .... 5 minutes?  No such luck.

My relationship with Flight Aware goes something like this:

Arrives: 14 hours 39 minutes
refresh
Arrives: 14 hours 39 minutes
refresh
Arrives: 14 hours 39 minutes
refresh
Arrives: 14 hours 39 minutes
refresh
Arrives: 14 hours 38 minutes
*exhale*
refresh
Arrives: 14 hours 38 minutes

I think you get the picture.

This is more addictive than the pizza tracker that Domino's Pizza uses......which by the way is currently  informing me that the chef is making my pizza and I need to keep patience.  I have a sneaking suspicion that it might know me a little too well.  But at least it changes faster than Flight Aware.

refresh
Arrives: 1 hour 50 minutes

Mom-cation

So once upon a time when we I started this blog, I had grand plans of writing about life in India and our travels.  Well, 12 months ago our lives changed for the better and now we have a 22 lb little human who demands our attention and has thrown our plans out of the window.  As a result, I imagine this blog will also go through some transformations.  We'll still write about our travels and joys/frustrations of living in a third world country ..... where it currently sounds like my house is under assault because someone feels the need to set off an absurd amount of firecrackers nearby.  Anyway, our focus usually is taken away from what we would like to accomplish and we find ourselves joyfully playing with Little Man.  Bear with us.

So Stewart and Little Man will be here in 24 hours.  I'm really looking forward to having them back home.  While the reason for the trip back home was not a happy one, this time away has been good for both of us.  Stewart and Little Man got to have some really great bonding time in.  We're still nursing so  I've always been the one feeding Little Man and putting him to bed.  This was the first time that he had to rely on Stewart to have all of his needs met.  Stewart got to experience having this tiny human snuggle up against him for a nap and want to be comforted by no one else but him.  I'm thankful that they had this time together .... but I do want my little guy home!

I had a long list of things that I wanted to accomplish while they were gone and I would have all the time in the world.  Well, I decided that I really wasn't going to get any of that done.  I got a little bit done but for the most part, I treated the past nine days as a "mom-cation" (I totally just made up that word .. let's hope it catches on!).  I enjoyed snoozing on the couch and watching trashy shows.  I chatted with friends and caught up on their lives.  And what is probably the most important one of all - I reclaimed my freedom.  India and I have been at odds off and on and I have desperately tried to love this country and living here.  I do not like it at times.  One of the biggest things that I have struggled with is my freedom.  We had a driver in the beginning but it really was ridiculous to pay someone to drive us to work and back.  It was such a waste of gas.  It would have made sense if we had school age children or one of us wasn't working but that wasn't the case.  So we got rid of the driver and Stewart drove.  I hated driving.  I don't like the other drivers on the road and I don't like the traffic.  I didn't like having to ask Stewart to drive me places or trying to track down a taxi (thanks, Mr. Singh, for abandoning my mom and me at the mall - real classy).  Stewart left suddenly and there was no choice but for me to suck it up and drive.  So I did with a small amount of trepidation.  But I've survived. I have a wonderfully supportive boss who has let me leave 15 minutes early just so I can avoid the majority of the traffic.  I've made it home in one piece everyday with my sanity intact.  How incredibly liberating to finally feel like this is something I can do!  Now, it hasn't always been easy.  I lost the mirror game once (but I still have my mirror so that's a win, right?).  I have had to deal with people speeding up behind me and honking because I actually had the nerve to stop at the intersection (India makes a very strong argument for survival of the fittest) and trying not to freak out when people drive straight at me.  But I did it.  My big test will be tomorrow night when I have to find my way out to the airport alone and park.  The fact that we have what I like to call "the blue plate special" should help but I do attract attention because I'm a female Westerner driving alone.  I just hope the police don't stop me and let me drive right on in!

Was that? Can't be..

I've had to deal with my fair share of "adventures" while Stewart and Little Man are away.  Pretty much, these aren't adventures at all; rather, they are things that either I a) wish Stewart was here to handle or b) wish Stewart was here cause I was a little scared.  I've had both types of "adventures" on this last trip.

A)  Wish Stewart was here....
Remember Spiderzilla? Well, we're having a little problem (read: not little at all but, in fact, a really, really nasty problem) in our kitchen.  It seems that, even though our house is kept very clean and tidy, some roaches (read: lots) have decided to take up residence.  Oh.my.goodness.  If there is anything that's going to freeze me in my tracks, it's roaches and spiders.  They have moved into our cabinets and scurry about when a door is opened.  In my mind, they might as well be the size of my hand.  I freak out.  So ..... I put on my big girl britches and gave the kitchen a healthy dose of one can of Raid.  I also managed to kill two with my shoe.  I do believe I should be commended for my bravery.  The embassy is coming out tomorrow to address the issue.  All of our kitchen stuff now occupies our dining room and our kitchen is empty ... except for the nasty buggers who won't budge.  Major pest control is happening at 10:30am.  I really wish Stewart were here to take care of this.

B) Stewart should be here because the roof is going to cave in on me...
Last night, I headed to bed around 12:30 ... what?  I know that's late.  I hate going to bed in this empty house.  I *may* be a little scared of being home alone in a foreign country...ok, any country.  I haven't even gone upstairs because that's probably where the boogie man is hiding out.  ANYWAY.  I got all settled into bed .....with the dogs locked in the bedroom with me .... with the three panic room locks done on the door.  As I was drifting off to sleep, the dogs started whining and crying.  I could hear the rumblings of the UPS man or a car with very loud bass driving by.  This usually does make them all whiney and barky. Wait.  There is no UPS man here.  There also aren't cars with stereo systems.  What the heck is shaking my house and making my dogs freak out?  Okay, there it stopped.  Wait, it's happening again.  Do you think I can convince myself that it's our neighbors moving a REALLY large piece of furniture.  Dangit, it's happening again.  Is this an earthquake?  If Stewart were here, he'd probably tell me it is.  Maybe it is the neighbors?  Crap, it's probably an earthquake.  I don't really trust Indian construction.  I hope the roof doesn't collapse on me.
Don't worry, the dogs survived and it was confirmed this morning on the radio that Delhi did indeed experience earthquakes last night.

Only two more nights until my family is all together.  I can't wait!

Long time, no blogging

Hello there .. have we met?  Wow, it's been quite a while since I last updated all of you on our adventurous life in India.  What an adventure it's been.  Since we last updated, we've been to South Africa, Dubai, and Thailand.  Little Man has started walking.  We celebrated two birthdays (30 and 1!) and my parents visited.

It's hard to believe that on the 29th of this month, we will be at our official halfway point of our time in India.  It seems like the first 18 months have flown by but it'll be an eternity before the next 18 months are over.  Life in India is hard.  I've come to the conclusion that it's a wonderful place to visit but actually living here is a good exercise in learning to appreciate the US and all it has to offer.

Currently, the ginger and Little Man are in Virginia.  We got a call last weekend telling us that Little Man's 101 year old great grandfather was not doing well.  Seeing as how Little Man is named after him and they had yet to meet, my guys hopped on the first plane to the states.  I'm so grateful for the time that Little Man got to spend with his great grandfather.  He won't remember it but we will.  And we have pictures to help us remember those precious moments.

My guys are making a pit stop in New York City to meet one of Little Man's great-aunts and great-uncles.  I'm so glad that Little Man has this chance to get away from India and the pollution and spend time in the states with family.

But .... I'll also be really happy when they get back in four days!

Sri Lanka Day 7

Today started off very relaxing and easy. We had a crazy storm last night that woke me up with all the wind and rain. Little Man slept in until 8:30!  We just hung around the hotel for breakfast and relaxing. I told Stewart that I wanted to go out for lunch so he looked online for a good place to eat.

We got in a tuk tuk and headed off on a winding dirt road. We went down some alleyways past hole in the wall hotels and restaurants with no name. We found the place we wanted to eat ....but they were closed. So we headed off on our own to find our back up option. 

We settled on eating at Kingfisher. There weren't many tables set up and they were all taken so we hung out on a wooden deck to people watch and wait for a free table. 

While we waited, we watched everything going on around us. There were several Sri Lankan males playing water cricket in their finest.....underwear. See through material, optional. As Stewart pointed out, little was left to the imagination. They were all having a ton of fun.  

We ate our lunch and headed back to the hotel. Little Man fell asleep on the tuk tuk ride back so Stewart and I ended up with some free time while he napped. Definitely a bonus of having a private pool!  We swam while the doors were open so we would hear him when he woke up. Stewart went to play pool with a Brit and Little Man and I checked out the ocean. He's slowly coming around to the idea of waves. He still isn't thrilled but willing to tolerate them...as long as he's in someone's arms!

Tonight, as we headed to dinner, the skies opened and poured down rain.  Not a good sign.  The hotel made a special seafood dinner for us which was incredibly sweet. The calamari was fantastic. The restaurant manager came by to talk about Vesak, the Sri Lankan holiday celebrating Buddha's birthday. People put out lanterns as part of the celebration. The hotel made one but it had to stay by the front desk because of the bad weather. Yesterday, we saw the town getting ready. Well, the restaurant manager told us that the weather was bad and it would not be good for us to head to Galle.  Luckily, Vesak is a weeklong celebration. He said we could check out the Peace Pagoda if we really wanted to go somewhere. The skies looked ominous but clear enough for a few minutes. Plus, my aunt and mom said they were looking forward to hearing about the lanterns. So we headed out, at least we could get pictures of the Peace Pagoda ...even if we had no idea what to expect. 

So we jumped in a tuk tuk and headed out. Little Man fell asleep as soon as I put him in the ergo. We got to the Peace Pagoda and it looked really nice. It was just a structure that was dome shaped with four Buddha statues carved around the sides. We were enjoying the walk around it. It was up on a hill and we had 360 degree views of everything including the ocean. I noticed a huge rainstorm off the coast and then we learned just how fast the rain comes in!  Within a few seconds, our tuk tuk driver came running to us telling us the rain was coming. We got caught in a torrential downpour.  We huddled under the overhang of the Peace Pagoda which was just high enough for us to stand under. Luckily, the wind was in our favor. At this point, Stewart remembered he did have his iPhone so we got one picture...

Once the rain lightened up, everyone made a mad dash for their cars. We got in the tuk tuk and headed towards the hotel or so we thought. The tuk tuk driver said he would take us to the temple "very quick". Ok.  We got there and had to leave our shoes behind. We walked up to a structure that had a giant Buddha laying down. There were several men and a Buddhist monk.  The monk took my wrist and tied a bracelet on while saying a prayer. Stewart got one too. The experience was powerful. 

Suddenly, our tuk tuk driver called to us saying he would be back in 10 minutes and drove off with our shoes!

We had no idea what was going on and it was raining still.  The monk walked off but came back with umbrellas. He took Stewart and I all around and explained the different statues and parts of the temple. Buddhists from India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka go to this temple. The layout was very interesting and with all the winding around and paths shooting off different places, I almost felt like we were in some kind of amusement park.  Our tuk tuk driver did show back up and walked around with us.

I really enjoyed the temple and seeing the different parts. We had a great night even with all the rain. The weather was cool and not humid at all. I'm looking forward to heading to Galle tomorrow night to see the lanterns. 

Sri Lanka Day 6

When we woke up this morning, Stewart announced we were going to head into Galle for breakfast and then to walk around the fort. We ate at Crepe-ology. I was very tempted to get "The Benedict" which was eggs Benedict minus the English muffins served in a crepe. I ended up with strawberries and mango. Stewart got the South of the Border crepe (above). They were good. 

After breakfast, we set out to walk around the fort walls. We slathered ourselves in sunscreen and set off. There was a nice breeze coming off the ocean which made the walk pleasant. The fort was built in 1588 which is just mind blowing. It's withstood so much in the centuries since then and is still standing. One of the downsides was dealing with the hawkers. They kept trying to sell us a baby girl's dress. Little Man is a boy!

The Dutch Reformed Church was open today. The Dutch buried their important people in the floor!  There wasn't any method to the layout either. Some were close to others, some were horizontal and others were vertical. It was sad to see the babies buried there. Malaria was very bad for the Dutch and British and wiped a lot of them out. The British were buried in the walls of the church. Outside, the caretaker showed us to gates in the ground. One led to an underground cemetery and one led to the ocean - an escape. 

After we finished our trek, we headed back for lunch at the hotel. Little Man was all rested by that point and ready to party!

We spoke with the restaurant manager about places to shop for Little Man. He wore a nice shirt while we were in Galle to help protect against mosquitoes. Monsoon season is coming to India and I want some linen pants that he can wear and still be comfy. We found a tailor and Little Man had to get measured. He was cool with it at first but then his stranger anxiety got the best of him. Poor baby. 

After we were done, we decided to walk back to the hotel - roughly 3 km. people are building their lanterns for the festival tomorrow and I wanted to check out the fish markets. While we were walking, it started sprinkling but then it stopped and we saw the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen AND it ended up being a double rainbow. It was so pretty. The whole time we walked, tuk tuks kept stopping and trying to give us a ride. Finally one said, oh you want to walk for exercise? Good for you. 

We're looking forward to checking out all the lanterns tomorrow and festivities. Stay tuned!