Kota Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo

From Singapore, we extended our trip to the Malaysian side of Borneo and stayed in Kota Kinabalu for a few days, which is said to be the gateway to some of the most beautiful coral reefs and sea life in the world (best for scuba diving, they say). While we were super lazy and took this holiday to seriously catch up on some rest, we did fit in some snorkeling which I would say had some of the most diverse and impressive underwater life that I've ever seen. Apart from this we walked around the small town quite a lot - see below for some snaps of KK as its often called.

Seaside fish 

Selamat datang - welcome!

The area we stayed - Jalan Gaya aka Chinatown

Jewelry to adorn headscarves and hijabs - beautiful!

Very friendly market vendor

View from a nearby island, Mamutik

Lovely water in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park

Brothers on Mamutik

Choppy waters back to KK

Walking along the row of men
with their sewing machines - about 30 of them.

Beginning of sunset at the waterfront.

The marlin!

Joey's on a boat.

Market scenery.

Some eggs.

More sunset.

Yummy market treats.

Moon and a family.

I wish you could hear the vendors calling out from here.

Someone's dinner.

Such a colorful catch. Should these be here?

My favorite sunset.

KK's 'viewpoint.'
They're trying to invent attractions besides the diving.

We tried to walk to the aquarium... rewarded with a nice view.

Love this leaf.

We had to pick up sticks when we encountered
some unfriendly dogs guarding their territory.

Luckily, we didn't have to use them.

My favorite thing to photograph.

Lovely light.

Sam negotiating with a taxi to take us to
the aquarium because we got lost on foot.

Made it to the aquarium! It's no Shedd.

Sea turtles about to be released (apparently), sting ray and friends.

This fish. Come on.
Imagine seeing this when you're swimming!

Surprise!

These colors of the fish. Wow.

Where the black tipped reef shark is kept...

Mean muggin.

I touched this shark! A bamboo shark.

The kids museum was so fun. Flip flop/PVC drums!

He's the captain now.

Budweiser in KK.

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Beautiful flight back home.

Choate in Bangkok

Apparently there is a substantial Choate alumni and student community right here in Bangkok! Well, enough so that their development team came out for a visit this weekend and Sam got in touch with a former baseball coach, a friend and other familiar faces from Wallingford, Connecticut who made the trip. 

We went out with Sam's friend on Saturday and had a blast and got together with the rest of the crew this evening, Monday, for drinks at a new rooftop for us - Red Sky at the Centara. It was a fabulous view and so fun to chat with these old/new friends while watching the sunset. 

Happy Monday, all!

Singapore: Lion City

We got to revisit Singapore last week when the boys took part in an international ice hockey tournament and played with their Bangkok teammates. I was excited to be back even though it's my third time in that country - the other visits were brief and I felt sure that I could tackle some more items off the to-do list in Singapore this time around.

Please rate this toilet. Everything has signs like this in Singapore. Amazing.

Turns out, Joe got smacked in the face with a stick in their first game of the tournament! So he was out half a tooth and his lower lip was put into two separate pieces entirely. He was such a trooper and still made the most of being there - we all had some fun times hanging out with the team and eating all the yummy food Singapore has to offer.

Good ol' Singapore.

Sam even got in touch with a former classmate from Choate, Mike, who took us to a great lunch spot on our last day. In the end, I did more sightseeing of the nightlife areas than the botanic gardens of Singapore, but still had a wonderful time and found myself so relaxed and happy to be in a place where the cars stop at least 10 feet away from you to let you cross the street - what a treat!

A man got fined about $14,000USD for littering 34 cigarette butts in 4 days.

Here are some more pictures from what little wandering I managed to sneak in between long sleep sessions and lazy reading in one of the most comfortable beds ever (thanks, AirBnB).

The shrine at our mom and pop shop.

A clear sky! Amazing.

Killiney Kopitiam's famous kaya buttered french loaf.

Killiney Kopitiam among so much yummy food. And Domino's.

Love this architecture.

Some birds.

More lovely architecture.

And more.

Delicious duck lunch for our last Singapore meal with Mike!

The pool at our AirBnB.

Loving this moon and sky.

A perfect capture for this crazy evening with the hockey boys.

Wendy's is in Singapore!!!! SO GREAT.

One of Sam's goals! Blue shorts, black shirt.

Handsome boys after their final game.

Nighttime at Clark Quay.

All of the trees lining the streets in Singapore are insured.

Old with the new.

Hey, it's Sam!

Walk on the rocks in your bare feet, he said.
It's good for you, he said. OUCH, I said.