Sunday, February 28, 2010

Feb 28: Singapore & Bali: Re-learning the art of conversation

Though Justin & Chelsea provided a great day and a half of warm-up, the next two weeks in Singapore and Bali definitely helped us re-learn the art of having a good, long, english conversation with someone other than the two of us. Being on the bikes so much, often all by ourselves, has definitely impacted our conversational skills.... the fact that Mike and I have had identical experiences, reading and listening material all year long has led to alot of laughing at 3-word jokes, finishing of each others' sentences and general laziness when it comes to expressing our thoughts and ideas.

Anyway, much thanks to Laura and Barry who were forced to see us over the bulk of the learning curve that was our re-integration into society. Other than that we weren't very productive - we barely managed to go for a run and get either one errand OR one sightseeing activity done each day, but we definitely enjoyed the slower rhythm.

One of our most annoying errands was scavenging bike boxes from the local bike shops and (somewhat sweatily) dragging them through the local subways, locals and security people staring at us the whole way...



We loved the Singapore Zoo... the "cages" seemed almost nonexistent for many animals and we got up close and personal with many of the less dangerous ones - orangutans, lemurs, bats and birds.


The plight of the polar bears in this hot country was a little dismal, though.




Nerds that we are, we also loved the Science Centre... though the plethora of pushy schoolkids kinda annoyed Mike. Judging by the height of most of the displays, but we guessed they might actually be the target audience and didn't complain. :P



In the evenings, we enjoyed quite a few great meals at home and around Singapore with Laura and Barry. We profited from their wealth of experience they have with Singaporean cuisine and tasted some of the best (and only) bone marrow and chili crab either of us have ever had!

Chili crab by the sea...





Bone marrow at the hawkers' stalls...


After a week with Barry & Laura, we were ready to practice our newly-refreshed social skills on a bigger crowd. We jumped on a plane and headed to Bali for Matt's wedding (an old friend from Saskatoon), where we got to hang out with him, other friends from back home, his new wife Lilian and a bunch of their friends from Taiwan.

The wedding was beautiful, and provided a great excuse for a week of relaxation and fun. We spent days by the pool, ate delicious food and had a blast partying in beautiful Balinese villas, pubs and clubs.

The beautiful couple...


Us in the best dress clothes we could rummage up in Bali's shops...


The happy couple with Matt's buddies on the beach.


For a day trip after the wedding, Mike, Andrew (another friend from home) and I went to a nearby temple on a cliff, famous for its aggressive, thieving monkeys. Luckily, we came home with all our stuff intact.



Mike stares a monkey down...


One fellow visitor and his car were not so lucky...


It was a great first week in Bali, with lots of fun in the sun (but even more in the shade!) Big thanks to Matt and Lilian for hosting us at their beautiful villas and fantastic wedding ceremony, and all the good friends (both new and old) that we partied with all week. Thanks guys for all the fun!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I still read all your stuff... can't wait for the next episode!

Keep going!

Edmond