Majulah, Singapura!

It is amazing that we have already been away from Singapore for a week. It has taken that long to get our days to nights and nights to days, recover from the crazy trip home, and get back into our regular routine. All that being said, we have definitely spent a lot of time reflecting, telling stories, laughing and getting some teary eyes about our experiences.

I decided to create a video of all that we did! It is 23 minutes of fun, so sit back and enjoy.
Singapore-Thailand 2015 LAH from Elizabeth Glassman on Vimeo.

I am so proud of the adventures we had, but even more grateful for the enrichment that Dave and Jen are giving their kids.  Although they miss American soil and conveniences of home, they have done an amazing job learning the culture, cultivating their own Singaporean pride and raising three children who can adapt to pretty much anything. Their community at Ardmore Park is welcoming and their friends so kind. I appreciated the hospitality from their friends and was continually impressed with the experiences that they will all hold near and dear, even as they all eventually will part ways to new locations.

Since we have been home, so many people have asked us each what our favorite parts of the trip were. It is nearly impossible to even begin to rank all that we did.  Bottom line, both David and Sarah list their favorite part of the trip as spending time with their Uncle Dave, Chocie Jen, Lulu, Dan and Allison. Although we traveled to the other side of the world (literally), it made me so happy to know that my kids have an appreciation for family. They know that the bonds they have with Team Go are one of a kind and life long, and for that, I will always be grateful.

Majulah, Singapura!

Happy 50th National Day, Singapore!

Today was a great day being here for Singapore's 50th anniversary as an independent nation.  It is amazing that such a sophisticated nation has only been established for so little years. We enjoyed watching the "parade" and fireworks on tv, much like the feeling of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade festivities.  The national pride is contagious, and I feel very fortunate to witness the celebrations.

Although Singapore is a democratic nation, we did wake up to the air raid siren that announced the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Long, was speaking.  It gave a jolt to start the day (especially David who was walking Molly), but overall the message was great.

 

After lunch, we went to the airfield to see Uncle Dave fly his planes and give the kids a try.  This was a ton of fun for all of us, and even I had a chance at the controls!  Jen and I later treated Lauren and Sarah to ear candling, which the both will be happy to try again!

We enjoyed the National Day festivities from their home, getting to see the jets and helicopters fly right past their balcony.


Happy 50th National Day, Singapore!

 

 

Mr. Yap, The Chinese Painting Whisperer

Today was the perfect day to spend with Mr. Yap. He is a master Chinese painter who is a native from Singapore and loves to paint with any age.  The rain was pouring, and the thunder booming while we channeled our inner artists.  Jen and the kids have already has lessons with Mr. Yap, so David, Sarah and I had different tasks to complete than the rest.  Mr. Yap had the ability to make all of our projects into works of art! He is definitely the painting whisperer for our family. Overall, it was a great success and I can see why Jen loves this hobby!

Elizabeth's Plum Blossom

Sarah's Plum Blossom 

David's coy pond

Allison had her own painting lesson with Daddy while we worked. 

After a busy morning of painting, we enjoyed a fun day at the pool!

Durian, Singapore American School and THE Family Picture Experience

This post will be brief because I am tired, it is after midnight, Mr. Yap will be here at 9am for our painting lesson and you might be tired of my posts!

Before Matt left, we had the pleasure of getting the kids to smile for family pictures. They did well and I can check it off my list! 

Dave attended a durian fest with some of his co-workers., and he was so thoughtful to bring some of the fruit home. I remind you that this is the coveted fruit from Malaysia that smells like garbage. There is no better way to describe it. David has been getting brave with trying food so he challenged Virgie to a durian eating contest. I can happily say he at least tried it! Virgie was a great sport and showed us her competitive side! 

The Gocek kids had their meet the teacher day so we were able to see their school, Singapore American School.  It is a fabulous community and both Lauren and Daniel have lovely teachers. I look forward to keeping up with their blogs this school year.

Stay tuned for our time with Mr. Yap tomorrow! 

Buddha's Tooth Relic, Noodle Man and a View to Remember

Now that we are back in Singpore, we only have a few days of our visit. Today's adventure was our visit to Chinatown with an adult night out at Boat Quay and Clark Quay. 

China Town did not disappoint! The kids loved the sounds, smells and definitely the shops!

We stopped for lunch at the world famous Noodle Man who made our chicken noodles right before our eyes! He  was so sweet to give us a quick lesson in noodle making. This was a delicious lunch and the best pork dumplings I have ever had. 

Next we took in the sights on our way to Buddha's Tooth Relic Temple. The grounds, relics and gardens of the temple were unbelievable. The kids enjoyed finding their specific Buddhas and experiencing the chanting of the monks.

We ended the day with a fun night out, just adults! Dave and Jen took us to Boat Quay and Clark Quay. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a Lebanese restaurant with the best hummus, baba ganoush, and shish kebobs. We ended the night with cocktails and a magnificent view at Southbridge and then churros to end the night. 

We got it all in before Matt left at 4am to head home to the states! 

Mahouts for the Day With Our Elephant Friends

Although it has been a few days since we spent the day with our elephant friends in Thailand, it has taken me that long to really process our elephant (chang in Thai) adventure and put it all in to words.  To say this was the experience of a lifetime is an understatement.

 We had the privilege of going to Patara Elephant Farm for our elephant encounter.  This facility is over 10 years old and has positively impacted over 50 elephants in that time with no deaths. The focus of Patara is education, not entertainment.  

They are proud to be a free-roaming facility that allows the elephants to move into the forest to sleep and move as needed.  Each elephant has a personal Mahout (caretaker) who tracks them and cares for them daily.  The Mahouts are from the long-neck Karen hill tribe. The women of the tribe make the riding pants and shirts that we wore. 

The four tenants of Patara are rescue, rehabilitation, reproduction and reintroduction of Asian elephants.  We were each given our own elephant to care for by feeding, brushing, washing and riding bare back.  My elephant, MaeMon, is a 28 year old female who had one baby 10 years ago. She is very loving and gentle. We were given an orientation on elephant personality, care and feeding.

Here are the top 10 facts that we learned about elephants. 

1. Waving ears and tails means happy elephant.

2. Proper diet of an Asian elephant results in poop that doesn't smell bad!

3. Elephants sweat glands are by their toenails.

4. Squeeze elephant poop to make sure they are well hydrated.

5. Healthy elephants should have dirt on both sides of body when they wake up.

6. A sick elephant will sleep standing up.

7. Elephants eat equivalent to 10% of their body weight each day.

8. Elephant tears wash down their face because they don't have tear ducts.

9. Mothers nurse their young for four years.

10. Elephant gestation is from 18-23 months. The elephants born earlier are usually females, and the elephants born in the 21-23 month are usually male.








All of us felt personally connected to our elephants and we didn't want to leave.  Saying goodbye was tearful and beautiful as we watched them walk back into their forest home. If you ever get the chance to be in Chiang Mai, Thailand, you must visit Patara. We all left with a sense of global responsibility that has precipitated into some continued conversations and questions about animal care of our pachyderm friends.

Elephant Parade, Silk, Teak and Silver and the Sunday Night Market

Here are the kids with our fabulous tour guide, Tu. 

    Sunday was a fun day in the city. We got a taste of the local artisan culture and more fabulous food!

Our first stop was the Elephant Parade shop. This foundation was created by a father and son visiting Thailand who learned about Moshi, an elephant that lost her leg to a land mine. This duo created the Elephant Parade foundation to bring awareness to elephant conservation in Thailand. The kids all painted their own elephant and we got a few souvenirs as well. Check it out www.elephantparade.com

From there we visited a local silk factory and learned about Thai silkworms.  The kids were intrigued, especially since they took care of silkworms in 1st grade. Matt even got a custom suit made!

The next stop was a wood carving shop where the kids got to try their hand at carving. The detail was amazing on these pieces of furniture and decorations. We ended our tour at the silver smith shop.

Our final adventure after a great dinner at The Riverside Market was the Sunday Night Market. This is a weekly street bazaar that the kids really enjoyed. We got some great souvenirs and I finally tasted the durian fruit. It smells like garbage but tastes sweet. I can say been there done that in this one! Check it off the list!