Saga

Everyone wanted to stay in Kuala Lumpur longer, but we had already booked our next hotel (non-refundable) in the quaint southwestern city, Malacca. We easily took the train to the bus station, but all the buses to Malacca were sold-out so we spent most of the afternoon waiting for an available bus. We stayed in a fun touristy area with our hotel located on the Malacca River near Jonker Street. The city streets were full of multiple cuisine restaurants, Chinese souvenir/antique shops, and foot massage spas (shout out to Shelley!). One spa attendant convinced us to get our ears cleaned with “ear candles” (where hot flames melt ear wax – it’s very gross but also relaxing). Also, oddly, the number one attraction in the small town was the “Huskitory,” a house full of Husky dogs that you can interact and play with (shout out to Dad). So, between ear candles and husky dogs, Malaysia had surprises around every corner.

Our bus ride from Malacca to Singapore was five hours (without a toilet onboard!). I wouldn’t allow anyone to drink liquids all day. Besides the toilet issue, the seats were comfortable and we spent the time working on schoolwork. Entry to Singapore was quick, although we had a slight panic attack when officials pulled Kelvis out of the immigration line and we lost sight of him momentarily. Luckily, it wasn’t a big deal as he needed to use the manual line (vs automated entry) because of his passport. Interestingly, we didn’t get stamps in our passports, but instead got an email with an “e-pass.”

The first evening we found a “hawker stall” (large food court) on Old Airport Road. Since sit-down-restaurants are crazy expensive we opted for more reasonably priced local food stalls, which are surprisingly tasty. Normally we avoid food stalls but everything is exceptionally clean in Singapore so the food is safe. In the evening Ken took the kids downtown for the nighttime light/water show at Marina Bay Sands Hotel.

The next day we took an epic 10 mile walk across all of downtown Singapore – Little India, Arab Quarter, Chinatown, Financial District, everything! Everett’s very happy about the food here: dumplings, potstickers, noodles, and Boba Tea. Although we are not night people, everything comes alive in the evenings (it’s incredibly hot and humid during the daytime hours). The city is strikingly modern with lush/tropical/green plants on every street corner. It has characteristically clean streets, courteous people, and everyone speaks English. If it weren’t so expensive, we would easily stay here for quite a while.

Unfortunately, Everett’s Microsoft Surface tablet has a cracked screen, which has been impossible to fix given the countries we have been in. Ken tried unsuccessfully at 10+ service centers across 5 countries. Everett uses the tablet for online school so we really need to get it fixed. It’s Sunday here (+16 hours ahead) and there has been a major downpour all morning. Ken is venturing out into the thunderstorm in attempts to fix the computer for the 11th time. What a DAD!Read more