Our first view of Singapore was in the infamous Singapore Straits. We had to cross the world's busiest shipping lane in order to get around the island of Singapore and into our marina on the south coast of Malaysia. Crossing the strait was like playing High Stakes Frogger.






After a couple of days relaxing in our marina in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, we caught a bus into Singapore, which is only a 45 minute drive from where Barbara Ann is docked. Singapore is a unique city, and very much worth a visit. Very clean, safe, and modern - with world-class shopping and dining; in short, everything that a certain person in our crew was longing for after being 4 months in the very third-world Indonesia.









The MRT system made getting around Singapore a breeze. Jackie's talk bubble was totally accidental; I didn't even see it when I grabbed the shot.





While we were in Johor Bahru, Tyler took his STCW class at Singapore Polytech; this class is one of the required courses he needs to be hired as professional crew on a mega-yacht.






Buddhist temple in Singapore.

Its been 4 years since the crew of Barbara Ann spent the holidays back in the US. We were due for a good-old homey Christmas. We arrived at Jackie's sister Anne's place in time for Thanksgiving, and stayed through the New Years - with a few road trips and a quick hop to Vegas (adults only) thrown in. Anne and Greg, and their two kids Amanda and Lance took great care of us, and the time flew by. Here's our delish Turkey Day feast.

 In Malacca, tourists get rides on colorful tri-shaws. Malacca is an ancient spice trading port on the west coast of Malaysia. Control of this lucrative port went from the Portuguese to the Dutch and then to the English before Malaysia gained independence. As a result of these influences, the city has some great architecture and some of the best dining in Malaysia. One of the local fav's in a simple, but tasty dish, known as Chicken Rice Balls. Cheap and good.

Austin takes advantage of a skate park near our marina to improve his skateboarding skills.






For some unknown reason, people take wedding photos on the "beach" near our marina. Take a look at the bride lying in the sand in the background. What's that about?






Boh Tea plantation - Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The Cameron Highlands was "the" place to build a cottage for the British colonialists and planters of the late 1800's. Today it's still an idyllic retreat and a welcome escape from the equatorial heat found in the rest of low-land Malaysia.






Jackie and I spent a night in the Highlands and enjoyed the best tea and scones ever at the Ye Olde Smokehouse









  Returning to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, we spent a night in Chinatown. Everything's on the menu, from Clay pot noodles ($1.20) which we couldn't resist, to pick your own live frog to cook up, which we did resist.










A fountain of bowls in downtown Kuala Lumpur



The next three shots speak for themselves..



















While living in Johor Bahru, we've made friends with some great locals. One of them graciously offered us a car to use while they were away. We did a loop of the eastern side of the Malay Peninsula; the highlight of the trip was a visit to the Elephant Orphanage Sanctuary, located about 2 hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur. No admission charge was asked for; but everyone who visits the facility is moved by the encounter, and leaves a donation. Visit their site: http://www.myelephants.org/

We'd love to claim artistic rights to these two great shots of Austin tearin' up the East Coast Skatepark in Singapore, but we can't. They were taken by a local photographer, Lee Syonan.

It's now May 2010, and the Red Shirts are stirring the political pot in Thailand. Lots of countries are posting travel warnings and the number of tourists flying into Bangkok is way down. Sounds like an opportunity! Jackie and I seized the day, and flew in for a quick 10 day getaway to the land of Thai. Austin and Tyler opted not to go with us.



After checking into our Bangkok hotel, we started our tour of the city in the Royal palace grounds. These next three pics are from that large walled-in compound, located right in the heart of Bangkok.















Across the river from the Royal Palace is the temple of Wat Arun. These steps are as steep as they look - more like a ladder than stairs.









An entrance to a Red Shirt camp. When we arrived, the situation had not gotten violent yet. It was more like a campground than a demonstration. We even bought a souvenir red shirt from a Red Shirt.






On our walk through a sidewalk market in Bangkok, we kept coming upon displays of dentures for sale. They were often sold with amulets. Perhaps they're viewed as some sort of talisman.






After a couple of days in Bangkok, we took an overnight train to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Here's Jackie getting ready for bed. The train rocked and rolled all night, and she ended up with a stiff neck in the morning. It wasn't quite the Orient Express.





Our hotel in Chiang Mai - the Rachamanka Flora House. A great place to stay, and only $18.00 per night.





Buddhists believe in getting karma merit through acts of kindness. One way to earn a merit badge is to release caged birds. Here's Jackie earning some points.





We visited an umbrella factory, where all the work is done by hand. The painters will also paint anything you have with you. Jackie opted to get an elephant painted on her camera case.






The food in Thailand was the best we've had in SE Asia. In Chiang Mai, a famous local dish is Khao Soi -  sort of a Tom Yam soup, but with Burmese influences. It was so good I had to order a second one.






Here's some of the choices available at the big Sunday Walking Market. We checked the bugs out, but went with the Pad Thai in the end. The Pad Thai was less than a buck, and was delicious.









There was a yearly festival taking place, in which offerings are made for the City's continued good fortune. On the other side of this temple, monks put offerings of tea into cannisters and hoisted them up the side of the temple, to be dumped on the temple wall. We couldn't comprehend the significance of dumping tea on the wall, but hey, it's cool.






By the time we got back to Bangkok, the situation had changed. Several people, including a rogue Army officer, had been killed and things were turning uglier. On top of that, lots of streets were closed. We bumped our flight up a day (no charge) and flew back to the boat in Malaysia. We thought Thailand was great and are looking forward to returning in the next few months for a more extended visit to the Golden Triangle area.



News item: The 27th of May was a sad day for Mom and Dad on Barbara Ann. Tyler left the boat, bound for the south of France. He's finished his Yachtmaster certificate training and is looking for a crew position on one of the mega-yachts in Antibes. Tyler is 19, and on his own now. It's so strange not having him on the boat now. We miss him terribly.

And then, there were three...






Back in Singapore again for a two week house-sitting gig, we visited Sentosa. Sentosa is a small resort island just south of Singapore, and is a mixture of Walt Disney World and Las Vegas. There's a new casino, a new Universal Studios, and lots of other places to spend cash rapidly. Here's Austin showing some surfing skills at the Wavehouse.





For years, people have been looking for Noah's Ark on Mt. Ararat, in Turkey. In a startling breakthrough, the ark was found recently in Singapore. Scientists are baffled..  Actually, its the newly built Marina Sands Hotel and Casino.






Seven weeks after seeing Tyler off to the south of France, we had a rendezvous with him in Singapore. A skipper in Phuket, Thailand saw Tyler's resume on a bulletin board and hired him as first mate on the 70' catamaran Nakula. Tyler's airfare back from France was paid for by Nakula's owner and he started working on board in early July. We needed to bring Barbara Ann into Singapore to pick up some new equipment and really enjoyed our few days visit with him there. Nakula is based in Phuket, so we hope to see Tyler fairly often when we bring our boat to Thailand.





Marina Sands Casino and Hotel, Singapore at night. It's billed as the world's largest casino. In its exclusive high-end stores we saw several diamond rings and necklaces on display for over 15 million dollars - each! Who has the kind of money, and why would they spend it like that? The answer is - wealthy Chinese, on holiday from Hong Kong and Taiwan.






The flip side of the coin. What's the famous line.. 'Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.'





We're finally on our way north to Thailand. One of our first stops was in Penang - an island off the Malaysian mainland, made famous for its mix of Asian cultures and excellent food. Jackie took this shot of a Dim Sum breakfast cart; you grab what you want off the cart when its wheeled by.

Or you could choose the Cuttle Fish with ... what?? They remind me of the critters in the 'Alien' movie series

The Hard Rock tradition continues. Now it's Austin's 18th birthday and there just happens to be a handy Hard Rock Cafe in Penang. Cheers to my youngest son, now old enough to legally order a drink in Asia.

What can we say? The food really was pretty good.

Next up - the magical islands of Thailand;  think 'The Beach' with Leo diCaprio
 

Thailand