Vietnam Overview

We are back in Singapore and are feeling extremely thankful for having been able to visit Vietnam.  The last eight days will have an impact on our lives forever and have changed our perspective about the world.  We were fortunate to have had a private tour guide with us, almost the entire time, and this enabled us to see and learn more about Vietnam in such a short period of time.  The Vietnamese people were warm, kind, and hospitable and they absolutely loved the kids.  Our plan is to record our journey with photos and videos that will help capture our experience in Vietnam.

Merry Christmas from Vietnam!

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family!  It is Christmas Day in Vietnam (1 day earlier than the USA) and we have had the most unbelievable and unique two days ever!  We went on a full day tour yesterday where we visited the Cu Chi tunnels, and the Cao Dai temple.  We had lunch in a local restaurant, visited a factory where they make handicrafts, and got a glimpse into the way people live here.  There are 9 million people in Ho Chi Minh City and there are about 5 million on motorbikes.  Watching the  traffic, driving in it with our driver, and crossing the streets is an unbelievable experience.  We spent Christmas Eve at a fantastic Italian Restaurant and then walked about 5 minutes to the Notre Dame Cathedral.  There were 30 to 40 thousand people gathered on foot and sitting on motorbikes in front of the Cathedral and celebrating Christmas, even though most are not Christian!  The energy in the square was amazing and it is almost hard to describe this experience.  As far as we could see, we were the only Westerners among the thousands of people and we were getting lots of stares and smiles.  We have found the Vietnamese people to be warm, gracious and hospitable.  We are having a quiet Christmas morning and then will start our city tour this afternoon!  I will write in more detail when we return to Singapore and include videos and pictures!  Love to all our friends and family!

Interesting Tidbits

1)  The locals often refer to the kids as boy and girl.  For example, yesterday, one of the staff working around the pool said to Kate, "Girl, how old are you?"  Last week, when riding on the bus, a local woman wanted to give her seat up for Jake, so she put her hands on him, moved him to where she wanted him to sit and said, "Boy, come."  As you can imagine, the looks on the kids faces when they are being touched and moved is one of surprise and fear.  They have also had locals wanting to have pictures with them and again, putting their hands on them to move them to take a picture.  I have had to explain to the kids that these people are not wanting to hurt them and that they are just trying to communicate and be helpful.

2)  The amount of people in the shopping malls is astonishing.  I went out to finish some shopping on Sunday and was overwhelmed by the amount of people.  When I asked a shopkeeper why it was so busy, his reply was, "It is Sunday."  It was so unbelievably crowded that I had to take a picture.  It was no easy task walking through the crowds either, since there is no set side to walk on, and people just push through.

3)  We came upon an interesting bar in a trendy area called Clarke Quay (pronounced Key).  The name of the bar was "The Clinic" and the waitresses were wearing scrubs.  They had i.v.'s which held drinks inside and the chairs were wheelchairs!  Very creative!

East Coast Park

The East Coast Park is Singapore's largest park and it stretches nearly 20km-along the coastline.  There is an asphalt path that runs parallel to the coastline, where people bike, skate, run, and walk.  Locals pitch tents and stay for the day.  We had fun biking for miles along the coast and seeing all that the park has to offer.  We got caught in a major rainstorm, but only had to wait about 20 minutes for it to pass.  The park has a skateboard park, windsurfers, and even a cable ski and wakeboarding park operating in an artificial lake.  We stayed for the day and then had dinner at one of the restaurants.

Night Safari

The Night Safari at the zoo was a unique and amazing experience.  A tram takes you around the pitch-black park where you get up close with many of the animals.  Several of the animals were within touching distance from the tram, where they were eating.  We walked on one of the trails and were treated to a lions roar.  The nocturnal animals were all being fed and although the park was dark, they had low level lighting to view the animals.  This night safari is a must-see in Singapore!

The kids even got to ride a zebra....no this isn't real!

I had to include this bathroom picture because it is so unique and beautiful.  It is an outdoor bathroom and the sinks face this beautiful foliage.

Fort Canning Park and the Raffles Hotel

On Sunday, we visited Fort Canning Park.  The park is set on one of Singapore's highest hills and is where Sir Stamford Raffles built his house in 1823.  In 1859, increased security concerns led to the building of a fort on the site complete with an arms store, barracks and a hospital.

In the park, there is a museum called The Battle Box.  The museum is actually a 9m-deep bunker, which was formerly the British forces' underground command center.  The tour takes you underground where they have life-size wax figures and an audio presentation that take you through the events of February 15, 1942 when the British surrendered to the Japanese.  It is the actual spot where the British surrendered.  Jeff was the only one able to take the tour as the kids were too frightened to go underground once they heard the loud shouts depicting the events of that day.

It has been interesting to learn about Singapore's history and to see who was in power at different times.

Our next stop was the famous Raffles Hotel.  The hotel was exceptionally beautiful with all of the Christmas decorations.  It is one of the oldest hotels in Singapore and is known for the Long Bar where the famous Singapore Sling was invented.

Snow in Singapore!

There was an intense snow (bubble) storm last night in front of the Tanglin Mall!  Evidently, this bubble snow storm happens every night in December and kids come prepared with bathing suits and ponchos.  We were not prepared, but the kids had fun playing with the snow.

The bubbles are shot out of many high powered machines and if you are standing underneath, you get drenched!

It was a lot of fun to watch the snow and see all of the people go wild.

These kids, and the ground, were covered in bubbles.

Singapore Google Christmas Party

The Google Christmas party was hosted at Oosh, a restaurant in a neighborhood called Dempsey Hill.  This trendy area is made up of upscale restaurants and bars and it was our first trip there.  It was great getting to know the people that Jeff is working with here in Singapore.  His team is so diverse, with people from India, Malaysia, Japan, and Singapore.

I had to include this picture for two reasons:  First of all, we are standing in front of our Christmas tree, which is so tiny that you can't even see it.  Secondly, Jeff informed me that his Christmas party was formal...just three hours before the event!  I did not bring any fancy dresses and figured I would just make due with what I had.  Fortunately, as the kids and I were getting ready to take the MRT, I noticed a dress shop (in the MRT station) and decided to stop and shop.  I ended up purchasing this dress there, along with the shoes and necklace.  It was the only choice there that would fit me because Singaporean's are tiny!

The kids loved the dress shop because they liked playing in the "hidden" dressing room.  This display wall rolls back to reveal this dressing room.  Jake referred to it as the "secret wall."

Jurong Bird Park

The kids and I spent the day at the Jurong Bird Park.  The park is home to more than 8,000 birds and much like the zoo, the landscape is beautiful.  The park offers many bird shows and lots of hands-on experiences for the kids.

All three kids said that they preferred the bird park over the zoo because they enjoyed watching the shows and loved interacting with the birds.  We all got the chance to feed bananas to an ostrich, although I must admit that I was quite reluctant (they are VERY large birds) and the kids had to talk me into it!

Emma was a little nervous....but not like me!

Kate chose to feed the birds in the African Aviary live mealworms, right out of her hand!

Look at her face as one is landing on her hand.

They all loved feeding the lorikeets nectar and having the birds land on their arms.  Emma was a natural and even had one trying to eat a button off her shirt!

Chinatown

We spent most of Saturday in Chinatown and still did not see everything.  We started our day at the Chinese Heritage Centre, where we went on a guided tour, and learned about the Chinese migration to Singpore.  The centre displayed vintage articles that helped show the way the early Chinese immigrants lived.  They even had exhibits that showed the shophouses and tiny quarters that many of the immigrants were forced to live in.  The museum kept the kids interest as well and Emma asked several questions of the guide.

Notice the German stand in the middle of Chinatown!

The kids loved looking for souvenirs for themselves and for their friends.

This is often the kind of toilet that we find when we are out in the neighborhoods (and yes, we have learned to use them).

They all tried the fresh coconut juice, but didn't love it.

We visited a Buddhist Temple which is Chinatown's "newest and flashiest mega temple."  We were lucky to go when they were having a service and chanting.  The amount of detail put into the design of this temple was breathtaking.  

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

We also visited Singapore's oldest Indian temple, which is also located right outside Chinatown.  It was fascinating to see the differences between the two churches.

Sri Mariamman Temple

Christmas Preparations

Although we are all wearing shorts and feeling like it is summer here, we have begun to prepare for Christmas.  This week, our apartment concierge staff hosted an afternoon tea and tree decorating party for the ladies while the kids decorated gingerbread houses and ate cookies.  They even special ordered a live Christmas tree, which smelled wonderful and made it really feel like Christmas time.

We bought our Christmas tree today from the supermarket and carried it home, along with our groceries, on the MRT.  We had to laugh when we got off the MRT with all of our bags, and our Christmas tree in a box, and were caught in a thunder and lightning storm!  We are pretty used to this by now and find the storms to be amazing.   We have never heard such loud thunder or seen such spectacular lightning.

Please note the amount of grocery bags that the kids are carrying (with no complaints) and the 29 dollar Christmas tree in a box.  Each time we get groceries, we attempt to buy a rolling cart, but so far they have been out!