The Weekender

Howdy all. First things first, are you diggin' the new look? Big shout out to Jelly Design Studio and Cynthia Arevalo for helping bring my vision to life. Also, a very happy Memorial Day to everyone back in the states! Being an expat has made me even more thankful to those who serve and keep our country and its citizens safe, both at home and abroad.   

Since I was MIA last week, this post includes a recap of the past two weekends and features two very special guests. Michael's mom and sis, Elaine and Rachel, traveled all the way from the good ole' USA to come visit us. Singapore is old hat for Mrs. D, but this was Rachel's maiden voyage, as well as her victory lap post graduation and pre entering the real world. A recap below- 

We kicked off the gals' arrival in Singapore at Alkaff Mansion Ristorante - the perfect place to dine and toast our special guests. The  restaurant / event space is set within an old colonial mansion built in 1918 and located up on a beautiful, secluded hill. I would definitely categorize this place as somewhere to dine out with the parents or celebrate a special occasion. (While we were there we were privy to an a-cappella marriage proposal at the next table over).

After a lovely initiatory dinner, the rest of the weekend was spent exploring the island and patrolling the usual hot spots: Boomerang Cafe (our neighborhood favorite), biking on the East Coast and cocktails with a view, of course. 

Biking + selfie stick'ing while riding past the CBD is no easy task.

East Coast vibes. I should add to my resume, 'proficient in self-timer photography'.

One cannot visit Singapore without a stop for an infamous Sling! I wonder what is the all-time record for most Slings consumed and/or monies spent at the Long Bar by an expat. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also, one cannot pass up what we believe to be the best view in the city...

...another of our favorites, Level 33. I think it has a much more laid back and comfortable vibe, as compared to Ku De Ta (the bar/ restaurant located at the top of the Sands across the bay). 

Michael, give you me your best 'muse' look...

Cheese!

We wrapped the weekend up with a little culture - Shakespeare in the Park and a picnic dinner. The Singapore Repertory Theater is putting on a showing of The Tempest at Fort Canning Park all this month.  

I followed the story by taking cues from Michael and laughing after every time he laughed. The theater and actors put on a great show. I highly recommend checking it out. 

Come Monday, Michael and I sent our guests off to the Ceylon Tea Trails in Sri Lanka for a little R&R. The gals traveled to the same place Michael and I stayed during our honeymoon {recap here} and loved it just as much as we did. The gals made it back to Singapore just in time to ferry over to Indonesia for the much anticipated 2015 Bintan Triathlon. 

Last year the weather was about 156 degrees in the shade. This year we were treated to a full day of rain - I'm talking hour after hour of monsoonal downpours. I had brought along all my camera gear with hopes of becoming a professional sports photographer, but it was raining so hard I never took my camera out of my bag. Unfortunately, I was only able to sneak a few pics from my iPhone #Photographerproblems. Rain or shine, we had a great time swimming, biking, running and cheering on Michael during his far superior Olympic distance event.    

Go Michael go! 

He crushed the swim portion once again and beat his time from last year. We were three very proud ladies :)

The weekend was a great fun and a major success. We got our medals, got the t-shirt and had some awesome thai food and beers to celebrate our accomplishments. (We dined at Baan Aarya - the best restaurant on Bintan island IMHO).  

The Duvall gals are continuing on with their tour-de-Asia, but we will be reunited once again this coming weekend in Koh Samui, Thailand(!) Can't wait! We are most definitely feeling the love these past few weeks. Until next week... 

XO,

CD

P.S. ICYMI, I am very excited to have a small piece published in one of my favorite expat sites, Honeycombers! {link here}

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The Weekender: Duvalls do Indonesia

Greetings all. Getting back to real life after the long weekend here in Singapore (Labour Day). Michael and I both had very fun and venturesome weekends. Now, before Michael left I sat him down and explicitly asked him to please take some pictures on his trip so I could include them in the weekend recap. Shockingly, I came home to a guilty, puppy dog face. A face that had busted written all over it. Photos aside, we both had a wonderful time and look forward to future group getaways. A recap below.

As previously mentioned, Michael and I had plans to head our separate ways for respective guys and gals trips. The mutual destination - our friendly neighbor Indonesia. The gals went off to Bali for fruity cocktails and sun and the guys to Bintan for golf and brews. In Bali, myself and 3 other ladies got a great deal on a villa at The Amala, located in the Seminyak area of Bali. The boutique resort is a collection of 15 private villas tucked back away from the road, only about 10 minutes via taxi from the main drag of Seminyak. It was the perfect spot for a group to relax and have a little (or a lot) of fun. I have a strong feeling this villa in particular has seen it's fair share of good times ;)

My lounging spot for the weekend. 

In between sunning and relaxing we had plans to check out some of the local hotspots. First stop - sunset cocktails at KU DE TA. A Seminyak must. 

Also, no trip is complete without a stop (or 2) at Potato Head. Ensure you get a lounger next to the pool.  

We may or may not have faked a birthday for cake... 

A couple detail shots on my way out... the weekend (as usual) went by way too fast. Big shout out to the girls for such a fun trip. Already looking forward to the next one :)

Meanwhile on an island far, far away island... Michael and the guys traveled via ferry to Bintan. The group stayed at Ria Bintan Golf Lodge. An all-inculsive, all you can golf, dream man-cation destination.  

This is the only photo evidence of the weekend, so suffice to say they had a good time. FORE!

Michael and I reunited and ended the weekend with a Sunday night Mexican feast and a haphazard attempt at watching a scientology documentary before crashing sunburned and happy.

Until next time. 

XO,

CD

P.S. One week until the Duvall gals arrive in Singapore(!) 

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Niki in Asia: Ubud, Bali

Happy March Madness everyone! Ugh, sorry, I wrote that on Friday. Anyway! Howdy everyone! TGIMonday. As I noted in my last post, my sister had excitedly traveled all the way to Singapore for a much anticipated visit - a little ‘adult spring break’ for her if you will :) After a fun-filled few days in Singapore, the gals jetted off for a mid-week, girls-only trip to Bali. Ubud to be specific (tough life, we know). Everyday we were up early, out the door and excited to explore this beautiful island. 

Ubud, is located in the center of the island, a great departure from the beaches of Bali. It is green x green, humid, full of rice paddies, temples, incense, hills and motorbikes. We had the most amazing time exploring the area on foot, via car, bike and elephant, oh my! A recap below:

We departed Singapore in the wee hours of the morning and landed in Indonesia a short time later. By the time we were settled in our hotel (we stayed here) we made ourselves comfy at the pool and had a very relaxing day. We were resting up for the upcoming days of back-to-back adventures. 

First on the agenda was a full day guided tour with the famed Wayan. I first met Wayan on our last trip to the area and I knew he was just the man to show Niki and I around. We started out the day with a long walk through these beautiful secluded rice fields and villages.

Cheese!

Local village. 

Inner roads of the rice fields. 

The pains taking manual labor that comes with cultivating rice is just amazing. We also saw so many types of fruit trees, plants, fist-sized spiders and animals along the way. The way the Balinese nearly entirely live off the land in such a small area invokes both envy and inspiration. 

Small offerings like the ones below can be found absolutely everywhere. 

My sister and I couldn't figure out why the cows looked like deer?

After our rice field trek, we headed to the elephant lodge. Elephants! Elephants! I want to pause here to state that I am not totally sure how I feel about the enclosure of all animals anywhere, in general, but the facility was very clean, in a large open forested area, the animals are well taken care of and seemed very happy and healthy. It was a very memorable, enjoyable experience that I was so happy to share with my sister. Minus my extreme paranoia around the large mammals (as seen below) it was a really cool place to visit and the highlight of our day.      

The face of pure joy :)

The face of, omg hurry up and the take the pic already! 

Duces. 

Elephant whisper. 

Wittle baby elephant taking a nap. 

Next Wayan was kind enough to show us around the compound of one of his close friends. In Bali, most all families live in these small compound-syle areas. The compound consists of many small buildings (homes) and temples for each family within the larger extended family that lives there.  

The women making offerings. 

Dinner's out back ;)

Our last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Elephant Temple and a sip of Luwak coffee. 

We went to bed that night exhausted and happy.

The following day we had arranged a cycling tour of Ubud. Most of the bike tours in Ubud advertise ‘downhill cycling’ - - - and they do not lie. We were picked up in a van at our hotel and driven to the top of a mountain (volcano?) and wound and coasted to the bottom through more rice fields and charming villages. 

Mount Batur. 

At one point we literally had school children laughing and chasing us and butterflies fluttering about. It was unreal. Well, truth be told, there were some points at which we were off roading though rocky cement in the midst of packs of wild rabid dogs, but for the most part it was beautiful. I would highly recommend the excursion. It was a wonderful way to see the more remote parts of the island AND you get a good workout all in one! 

The variety and flavor of the locally grown fruit is amazing (and crazy cheap on the road-side stands!).

Bike selfie. 

I heart my sister. 

After four days in Bali, a million rice fields, three cheap sundresses purchased, numerous nasi goreng meals, and one horribly traumatizing Balinese spa experience later, we were headed back to Singapore with happy hearts and a bank full of memories for my sister and I to share and laugh about for the ages. It was a wonderful side trip and I was so sad to see her depart, but sadly for us, she had to fly back to Nebraska and take care of the kittens (the twins). I love you Niki - thank you for all the fun out in SE Asia! Until next time…

XO,

CD

P.S. Michael and I are currently in Beijing. I have taken a bajillion photos and I cannot wait to share them with you in our recap post. I am currently enrolled in my second photog course so I am really enjoying the practice while traveling :) 

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