Singapore, Singapore, and more Singapore...

Due to our ever changing immigration status, we have been to Singapore a half dozen times or so. We usually stay for less then 24 hours (and typically it's just me and the kids), but we still try to make the most of being out of Jakarta and exploring a new city. Here are a few pictures from our last few trips to Singapore including the one trip we were able to make with Chris, Debi, and Andy.

WatSan Action

Every year, the sixth graders at Emilie's school go on a field trip to learn about WatSan Action, a service organization in Jakarta. Emilie and her classmates headed out on this adventure last fall. After the trip, Emilie told us all about it in a typical 12-year old way. "It was good." So, when I was given the opportunity to join another JIS Peduli service trip to WatSan, I jumped at the chance. I wanted to find out more about WatSan, but I was also very interested to see what the "good" sixth grade field trip was all about. WatSan Action is a nonprofit organization developed by a JIS Alum. Their mission is to work with Indonesian kampungs to improve their water and sanitation conditions. We were able to visit one of the kampungs WatSan is currently working with to see these things in action. 

An integral part of the WatSan program is education. WatSan workers go to the kampung and teach the children about the importance of things like using clean water and washing their hands. The kids learn new hand washing songs and are taught how and when to wash their hands. WatSan also leaves a library in the community for the kids to use.  

Let's Wash Our Hands (As translated by me with my very limited Bahasa Indonesia)
Let's wash our hands before...
Let's wash our hands before...
Before we eat..
After using the restroom..
Let's wash our hands before..

Let's wash our hands before...
Let's wash our hands before...
Use clean water...
Clean with soap...
Then dry with a clean towel..

This guy was roaming around in the middle of the lesson

The kids are taught to wash their hands using this hand washing station.

After observing the classroom and singing a hand washing song with the kids, we were given the opportunity to walk through the kampung to see some of the other things WatSan has done. They have built two community bathrooms as well as a place for the members of the kampung to wash dishes and clothes.                  

Like most of the kampungs we have been to, this is a trash picker's community. The trash comes in on a daily basis and is originally sold for $2-$5USD per day. It is sorted and sold to various other groups that come. Anything that cannot be sold is burned. 

 

The people of Indonesia continue to amaze me with their hospitality. They are always so gracious. Even as we are traipsing through their community, we always receive warm welcomes and big smiles.  

Museum Satria Mandala

A few months ago, in an attempt to explore more of Jakarta, we set out for the Museum Satria Mandala (Armed Forces Museum). The grounds are huge and before you even set foot into the museum, you have the opportunity to touch, climb on, and explore a military tank, helicopter, airplane, rocket, and ship. Once inside, we learned more about Indonesia's fight for independence. In true Indonesia fashion, they had several good diorama type displays and most everything had an explanation in English as well as Bahasa Indonesia. The basement held display case after display case of military arms and even some rockets. We ventured out the back door to find several military vehicles on display including Chris & Andy's favorite (airplanes). The grounds were beautiful and we all had fun learning more about the history of Indonesia while also checking out some cool military equipment.  

Beautiful Thailand

Thailand was #1 on my "Must Visit" list when we decided to move. When Papa Touchdown and Cathie said they were coming to visit, they told us they wanted to go anywhere we wanted as long as I did the planning. That meant a trip to Thailand, but it also meant a tremendous amount of pressure. What if our accommodations were bad?  What if our airport transfer didn't show up?  What if the tours were a bust? Up until this point, everything had been PERFECT! This was great, but it also meant the pressure was really building for Thailand (and nobody had a problem reminding me of this). Thailand had to be as good as Jakarta, Bali, and Vietnam...We were picked up at the airport by a young woman who was our tour guide for the week and quickly became part of our family. Tik arranged EVERYTHING for us, from our accommodations to our car, our food and our tours. We stayed minutes from Bang Tao Beach in a beautiful three bedroom house complete with a private pool and koi pond.

Tik took us to some amazing restaurants.  

Pung Chang Cave

After being outfitted with headlamps, we took a canoe ride deep into the elephant's belly cave. We were not allowed to take photos inside the cave, but believe me, it was awesome. We started out in canoes and transferred to bamboo rafts before hoofing it on foot through knee high water. All the while, we were able to get a good look at the sights inside the cave. The stalactites and stalagmites were amazing. There were hundreds of bats hanging from the ceiling and the guide was kind enough to remind us to keep our mouths closed when looking up.  

Over 90% of Thailand is Buddhist. We all enjoyed visiting the Big Buddha and learning a little more about the Buddhist religion, including learning a little about each of the Buddhas.

  

The Big Buddha was still under construction when we were visiting. We got to see men working on these amazing wood carvings. They were carving everything by hand. 

We also enjoyed checking out all of the offerings made for the Gods.  If you look closely, you will notice full Gatorade and Soda bottles with straws ready to be enjoyed by the Gods.  

Emilie had the opportunity to take some AMAZING photos at the Orchid Farm

The beaches in Phuket are every bit as beautiful as you have heard.

Tik took us to a couple of "Local" places to watch the sunset. The views were STUNNING. One evening we were even serenaded by some beautiful guitar music. We were able to enjoy the sunset with wonderful music, delicious ice cream, tasty coconut milk (straight from the coconut), and great company!

We spent an entire day on a boat touring a few of the islands in the area. This included some amazing snorkeling as well as a trip to Maya Bay - the site of the Leonardo DiCaprio movie "The Beach."

The photo below shows a cave where bird's nests are harvested for Bird's Nest Soup. The harvesters live in the cave year round to protect the nests from poachers. The nests can be sold for $2000-$10,000 (depending on the type of nest). The nests are formed mainly from male bird saliva and takes about 35 days to be built. They are then used to make soup. It is believed that the nests contain great nutrients and healing power. A bowl of soup can be purchased for $30-$100.  

Tik helped us explore Phuket...showing us some of her favorite places.  It is BEAUTIFUL!

This area was all water prior to the 2004 tsunami that brought in all of this sand. This devastating tsunami killed over 8,000 people in Thailand and over 230,000 people in Southeast Asia.

Thailand was the perfect end to an amazing trip with Papa Touchdown and Cathie. We were so fortunate to have friends refer us to Tik who helped make the trip that much better. We loved exploring a little bit of Asia with Papa and Cathie and can't wait to do more exploring with them when they come back (the day they left, Dustin asked if we could make a ring chain to begin counting down the day until they come back!). Thank you for such a great trip Dad and Cathie!!!