Stay Tuned!

Exciting news coming up that I can't wait to share! Stay tuned for that, as well as my long awaited (and much anticipated?) Bali post. I've started typing it up, so I promise it's REALLY happening. Also, the next couple of months include trips to Langkawi (and island in Malaysia), Thailand, Chile, and finally a month of vacation back home in the US! I'm a bit excited to say the least :) Things aren't too shabby for this little mermaid! As they say, life is the bubbles!

man bag, satchel, or murse? you be the judge.

First Week in Singapore Pictures

First day off and ready to explore Singapore! Walking across the bridge from the marina, pre- sweaty mess Entrance at Temple Sri Veeramakaliamman More ornate decorations on the exterior of Sri Veeramakaliamman Yet another picture at the temple. These two men appeared to be preaching over the microphone and doing some sort of ritual. Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel's Long Bar

Lunch at the Moroccan restaurant on Arab Street

Grand Sultan Mosque

Cool street art

aaaand even more from Sri Veeramakaliamman

shop in Little India

singapore, so hot right now

Hello again friends, family, and strangers! I'm in a wonderful mood as I sit here at one of the marina's three restaurants, catching up on my blog that is once again accessible in english, realizing that I am no longer in Benoa Harbor. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed my time in Bali, but where we had to keep the boat was literally a dump. I feel like an awful person saying this, because i'm so grateful for all of these experiences and every little thing I am getting to see, good and bad, but 3 months tied up to a concrete slab with rabid dogs as frequent as trash piles definitely makes you ready for a change. I'll post later about my Bali stay as a whole (I have it written down on some pieces of paper crumpled in some drawer in my room) because I promise there's a lot more to that story. Anyway, we left Bali last week and it took just over 3 days to reach Singapore. In comparison to the Perth-Bali trip, it was very calm and included no personal injury on my part (we're making major progress over here). The highlight would be that we crossed the equator at about 8 pm the last night of the trip which was really cool because the boat shakes a little and you feel a quick drop. Just kidding. Absolutely nothing happens when you cross the equator and it's actually extremely anticlimactic, but of course I took a picture of the screen reading "lat: 00.0000". In reality, the water does flush straight down the toilet, which I was told, but never got to witness. Also, it smelled like asian food outside, which was weird because we were in the middle of the sea with no boats close by, but I swear it's true. Arriving in Singapore, we pulled into Keppel Bay Marina which looked like OZ gleaming in the horizon compared to Benoa Harbor. Turns out it has won awards for being a top marina in Asia and I can personally vouch that it definitely deserves it. It is actually it's own little island, only about 1/2 a mile in diameter (i've been practicing my math for the GRE's, can you tell?), connected to the mainland by an impressive suspension bridge that is beautifully lit up at night. The bridge is also only about a tenth of a mile long, and we are practically on the main island so it's super convenient. The first night we discovered a mall right across the bridge so didn't waste any time topping my phone back up with data credit, gotta stay connected! Finally had a day off yesterday and today so I got to do some anticipated exploring which has just made me like Singapore even more. With the exception of everything being so expensive, the mix of cultures combined with the clean and modern status of Singapore make it a great city/country (i'm still working out that whole situation...) Yesterday I went to the "Little India" district and started at Temple Sri Veeramakaliamman which if I remember correctly, is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore and it is a must see for sure. I had to show the cab driver the temple's name written down because I didn't feel like there was any way I was going to do anything but butcher the pronunciation, however I can now proudly say "veeramakaliamman" like a PRO. Impressive detail and beautiful shrines make up the interior and exterior and I felt like I couldn't take enough pictures. After exploring the temple I walked around Little India for a while, bought some pashminas from a wonderful older lady who called me beautiful and clever and gave me a cold bottle of water (probably the nicest thing someone can give you when you are living on the equator) as well as some bracelets which I later realized are too small. Good one Arielle. Also bought some essential oils which smelled AMAZING in the glass jars but later discovered that when I put them on my skin, smell like nasty B.O. So basically I have horrible buyer's remorse on those and if anyone wants these things, they are YOURS. Back to the highlights, I also saw the large Grand Sultan Mosque (which I think is the Islamic equivalent to Sri Veeramakaliamman, but I wouldn't trust my memory) which was also impressive, had a nice lunch at a moroccan deli on "Arab Street" which is the road that leads to the mosque (you can't make that up)and ended the day with a well deserved Singapore Sling at the Long Bar at Raffles hotel which is cool for a few reasons. (Don't worry silly, I'll tell you what they are!) First of all, the Singapore sling was INVENTED (!!) at the Long Bar. Unfortunately, this makes them feel entitled to charge poor, excited tourists THIRTY DOLLARS to indulge in the sickly sweetness of their alcoholic pride and joy. On another note, the hotel is historic for being one of the oldest buildings/establishments in Singapore. (I feel like I'm basically making all of these facts up at this point but a travel guide was the source of my information which is now jumbled in my brain, so I really can't be blamed) Raffles was also said to be a favorite of many authors including Rudyard Kipling and Noel Coward, and as a result houses another bar aptly called, "The Writer's Bar". That, I am sure of and you can read more for yourself here http://www.raffles.com/singapore/history/history/ if you are so inclined. After my overpriced but satisfactory drink, I began my search for a taxi at the peak of rush hour in the middle of the city, because timing is my middle name. After about 20 minutes I realized that you cannot simply flag down a taxi in Singapore city. There are designated taxi lines all around the city, mostly outside of shopping centers and hotels, so after finding one and then waiting ANOTHER 30 minutes in the heat behind other sweaty people, I made my way back to good old M/Y Zenith. Today wasn't as exciting in comparison so I'm just going to end this update here. Pictures to follow!

2 days in KL -Part 2

Two posts in one day? "That's MADNESS" you say! I noticed I have an awful trend of beginning each of my entries with an apology for taking so long to update. That must be really annoying for many reasons, mostly because it's horribly monotonous. So, sorry about that...and sorry for apologizing again. Gah. What a horrible cycle. BACK TO THE TOPIC AT HAND. Here I am sitting in the KL airport waiting on my flight back to Bali and I'm writing a post about the past 48 hours, how prompt of me! After my adventure with Herman, things at the Bali airport went swiftly and after a 3 hour flight I found myself safely at KL airport. **Warning** I'm about to talk about bodily movements, so if you have a problem with that, kindly skip to the next paragraph. Anyway, I had a slight urge to pee but immigration awaited so I found a spot in line. One hour later and FINALLY through the long and seemingly endless wait, I beelined it to the nearest bathroom. There were four stalls in total, the last two were ajar but there was a woman waiting in line so I fell into the "follow the herd" psyche and waited behind her. She finally got her turn, but things got serious on my end so I went to solve the mystery of the last two stalls. THERE WERE WOMEN IN EACH ONE. WHY didn't they shut the doors?! It was SO awkward and they looked at me like I was the weird one for pushing the door open farther. Thinking that perhaps the locks didn't work, I investigated the situation afterward and NOPE, both stall locks were fully functioning. Come on ladies, get your shit together. Regardless, this was the least of my worries because I then found that my relief station was in fact just a hole in the floor. A hole. In the floor. So many emotions ran through my head. Things just got weird. This is when I knew I was not in Kansas anymore. Don't get me wrong, I've been a lot of places but when the first thing I encounter when landing in a new country sends me into shock mode... I get nervous. Of course I was dehydrated and thirsty as a mule the entire trip so I had to get used to these holes. (I refuse to call them bathrooms) After I got over the whole urination situation (like what I did there?) I made my trek to KL city center and began exploring. KL is a really cool city with interesting architecture (See: Petronas Towers) and INSANE shopping. If you look on tripadvisor for things to do in KL, I think 8 out of the top 10 things to do are shopping related. Im talking 6 story malls with stores ranging from Gucci and Prada to smaller chain stores and boutiques. There is literally something for everyone. I was swept away when I walked in and saw Tiffany's immediately to my right. I apologize to my credit card for giving in so easily, but that bird's egg blue gets me everytime. After spending literally hours inside ONE mall, I thought that maybe I should give my wallet a break but oh wait, it was raining! ...on to the next shop! Finally, I made it outside during a break from the rain and walked around KLCC park which is conveniently located right outside of the mall I was in (I'm telling you, everything revolves around shopping) and got some amazing views of the Petronas Towers. I would have loved to go up and walk across the skywalk that connects them, but it's no longer free and the mall had run me pretty dry. I did however master the art of the solo shot with the towers in the background. You learn to take pretty decent self shots in general when you are traveling alone. The few times I did ask the random stranger to take a normal picture of me with whatever backdrop they NEVER spoke english. Just my luck. It's pretty easy though to show the button on the iphone so it worked out alright. The funny thing was though that each person wanted a picture with me afterward for their own personal collections. I really stuck out like a sore thumb and apparently seeing a blonde girl (for those of you that know me, the brown hair has been gone for about a year now...) on her own in an asian country is a bit like spotting bigfoot. I'd estimate that I'm now in at least 5 asian families photo albums. No autographs, please. Later that evening I went to the Bukit Bintang area for...wait for it....MORE shopping. This time it was much lower scale shops and a lot of street vendors. At around 7 pm a bunch of people set up shop on the sidewalks selling fake designer watches and other wares. I stoppped to assess the situation and found it absolutely hysterical when a man tried to tell me the rolex's were real. Okay dude, I'm never going to believe you OR pay 250 RM for it. (RM= Ringgit Malaysa and its about 3 RM to each US dollar) This shopping excursion was as a result much kinder on my wallet and I made it back to the hotel for a quiet night in with my many pillows. I went a little crazy with the complimentary pillow menu... but there were EIGHT options! Who wouldn't want to have their own pillow satisfaction test? I slept quite well, thank you very much. Day 2 has basically been just a quicker version of day 1 and in reverse seeing as my flight is scheduled for 8:25 pm. Transport to and from KL airport is really convenient (AND cheap) and none of the nonsense that was airport transport in bali. Next time I find an internet connection where I can understand the blogger.com language I'll tell you (family, friends, and stalkers) all about the boat trip from Perth to Bali (teaser- suffered a slight concussion from some unfriendly rogue waves) and all about my time in Bali in general. Instead of apologizing for the delay, I'm telling you now that it's probably going to be a while. Until then, Terima Kasih for reading! (google translate that)

2 days in KL- Part 1

I realize it's been WAY too long since i've updated this but I promise I have an extremely valid reason. The reason being that I don't speak Indonesian. This is a problem considering that when I access the site in Bali, where I've been since June, it is entirely in Indonesian. See? I told you, major issue. Anyway, there's much to update on- so, so much- but this post will just be about my 2 day stint in Kuala Lumpur, which I am finishing up as we speak (/type?). Basically, we have been on the boat in Bali so long that our extended visas have even expired so in order to stay each one of the crew has had to leave the country for a day in order to re-enter with new visas. Keeping costs down, I ended up being shipped off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (the closest out of country destination) for an overnight stay, for which I am not complaining at all. Any travel I can get always excites me. Wednesday morning I was meant to fly out of Bali at 6 am. This means that I had to be up at around 3am- not ideal, but it meant a longer stay in KL, so it was worth the sacrifice. I was all set up with a cab to arrive at our dingy marina at 3:30, from a friendly driver named Herry. Herry assured me that it wasn't too early and I would see him bright eyed and bushytailed, ready to take me the 20 minutes to the airport. Herry is a big fat liar. I sat and waited 20 minutes, all the while being eaten alive by mosquitos in the dark. When the lone security guard offered to call another cab service, which I initially declined because afterall Herry had seemed so trustworthy, I was very thankful. Once again however, I was left waiting as mosquito bait with no sign of transportation. Finally, with less than 2 hours until my flight was scheduled to take off, the kind security guard insisted that he take me on his motorbike. Herman, which I found out later was the security guard's name, had offered this option before but having luggage in tow and wearing a maxi dress made it seem undesirable. Well, screw desirable. I hiked up my maxi dress and hopped on the back of that motorbike and clung to Herman for dear life while we weaved through the streets of Bali in darkness like two bandits, all the while thinking "dear god my mother is going to die if she ever finds out, but at least I'm wearing a helmet". Images of the movie "Taken" were entering my mind as I left my fate in the hands of Herman the security guard. In the end, Herman ended up saving the day and even walked me and my luggage all the way to the international departure gate, which if left on my own, probably would have taken me a good half hour to find. Thank god for Herman. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to save the details of my time spent actually in KL for the next post because its time for another taxi adventure back to KLIA airport. Wish me luck. But seriously, wish me luck.

happy easter!

Okay so I realize I'm a few days late but I've been away from my computer. Anyway minor updates are that I've been back living in the apartment in Perth CBD while the boat has been in the shed having its hull repainted. What was supposed to be a week in the apartment has now turned into over a month so if you've seen pictures of me recently, yes I am wearing the same thing over and over again. What are ya gonna do? For the past few weeks I've been told that we would be back on the boat "tomorrow morning", "in two days", "by the end of the week", etc. so for those who are curious, no- I have no idea how much longer I have to wear these clothes. I'm just along for the ride.

Anyway, i spent Easter at the Fremantle markets which I have been trying to go to for months. It was a really great day wandering around on my own looking at all the local produce and wares. I also had one of the best meals I think I've ever tasted. Bought some fresh cut mango from one of the farmer's stands and then grabbed a slice of "raw" pizza from "The Raw Kitchen" stand. The pizza was gluten free, dairy free, vegan, organic, and a few other things "free" but it was incredible. The crust was made of dehydrated buckwheat with a tomato, pepper, and basil sauce, topped off with fresh tomatoes, basil, sundried tomatoes, and olives. There was even a "cheese" made from pureed nuts, garlic, and lemon. Sounds sketchy but I promise it was a great substitute (and this is coming from an absolute cheese fiend).

There was also an arts festival of sorts taking place so there were various acts in the streets including an adult dressed and running around on all fours in a dog costume being chased by a scottish man on stilts, an italian peddler act, and a mime. There was some music going on in a few different areas too but I didn't really pay attention to everything (big shocker there).

Alright, here are some pics.

the markets

yummm

mime.

SORRY

...that it has been so long since my last post, but i promise it was for good reason! I MADE FRIENDS! This sounds so pathetic, but yes, it took me 2 months to make friends and yes, I am as shocked as you. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I pride myself in being able to make friends pretty easily most everywhere I go. I just happen to be a happy and cheerful person, okay? Anyway, friends have made my time here in Western Australia EXPONENTIALLY better, as i now have a social life. Funny enough, they are from all over the world, not Perth. L and her brother D are both form New Zealand, so I am now learning the subtleties between the NZ and Aussie accent, of which I am quite proud of myself. Their roommates, C and M, are a couple from Ireland and everytime they say "Perth" it comes out "Pert". They also say weird things like "your man" and "yoke" to describe pretty much anything, but that's a much more complicated thing to explain. Other various friends along the way have included germans, italians, south africans, and yes finally some aussies. It's like the UN up in here! Anyway, I've been getting to see a lot more of W.A. than I would have on my own and i'm SO happy about it. Also, since we've delayed our departure about 5 million more times since I last wrote (we should now be leaving the first week of April....fingers crossed), I think I would be banging my head against a wall if it weren't for my new friends giving me an outlet to escape nanny life.


Cool New Things I Have Done:

-went on a wine tour in Margaret River (copious amounts of wine, what more could you ask for in life?)
-went surfing in the Indian Ocean. AWESOME
-saw Busselton jetty, the longest jetty in the world (if i remember correctly...)
-met one of the contestants of "My Kitchen Rules" (Aussie reality tv show) after the bars one night!


I'm sure there's more but because I waited so long to write this, I am now facing the challenge of remembering them all. Once again, my apologies.

ALSO! I moved onto the boat about 3 weeks ago and it has been great! Getting to know the people I will be leaving with has been great, and I realized I have greatly overpacked. What else is new? Only downfall is i miss going for runs along the swan river as there isn't much in terms of running area in a shipyard. My one attempt at running along the seawall ended drastically (see photo) so I think I'll just stick to jumping jacks or something in my cabin? Anyway, will have more to post soon I'm sure and I'll try my best to keep my updates regular again!

Yup, no more running at the shipyard for me!

Spectacular views of our neighbors in the shipyard! So exotic!

Me and C with the contestant from MKR!

sydney weekend 2.0

Just got back from another whirlwind trip to Sydney and it pains me that it is over. On Australia day we had a BBQ at the apartment with some of my bosses' friends and then I took the red eye flight to Sydney after watching a few minutes of the fireworks from our amazing balcony view. Had a few complimentary drinks at the Qantas lounge and then woke up in Sydney, what could be better? Friday we just did a lot of walking around and taking in some of the local sights before making our way to Chinatown for dim sum where they happened to be having a Chinese New Year celebration. There was a huge dragon being carried around by about 20 people and it was kind of cool because one of my friends and I were both born in the year of the dragon, so it was kind of like a celebration for us, right? "Welcome to Sydney!" Anyway, we went out that night and all felt the repercussions the next morning, so it was a slow start on Saturday. (There's more to that story but i'll save that for my personal memory) Despite feeling worse for the wear, we did a LOT of walking on Saturday. Im talking, a LOT. We don't plan things well apparently when deciding copious amounts of Patron Cafe is a good idea the night before taking walking tours. Either way, we weren't going to let some foolish decisions ruin our visit. After all, it was day two of only a two day trip. Anywho, we began the day by riding out to Coogee beach and walking the beach path all the way to Bondi beach. It's a really nice walk with great views and I highly recommend it. But wear sunscreen, always wear sunscreen. And be prepared to dodge runners at every turn. After we got back to the apartment and underwent several waves on nausea on all our parts, we made our way to embark on the legendary Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb. If you are ever in Sydney, DO THIS. (http://www.bridgeclimb.com/) I may or may not have been shaking the entire walk back down the bridge, but it was so worth it. Seriously, it is something I will never forget. Apparently there have been over 4,000 marriage proposals at the top of the bridge. (Which if you ask your guide about, you will find out is a complicated endeavor) Out of the 4,000, there have been two "no"'s. Awkward. I found that tidbit interesting. Unfortunately there were no proposals on our climb, but we did sing "happy Birthday" to one member of the group. I bet he'll never forget that. Anyway, we went out once again on Saturday night and then decided it was not worth it to sleep since we had early flights on Sunday morning. And that would be the reason it has taken 2 days to write this post.

Sydney, touche.

thought

facebook convo revelation from today:

-i just wrote on your wall
-btw, that a very weird thing that we say now that is normal
-if you said "i wrote on your wall" in the 90's, ppl would be like WTF! why did you do that?? what did you write?!



just another lesson in context, people.

Kings Park

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure (not really) of walking up a San Francisco worthy hill in 100 degree weather en route to Kings Park in Perth. Had I known the terrain I would be traversing, I would have picked a better day, but hindsight is always 20/20 right? Despite the sweat dripping down my back, I really enjoyed Kings Park (that is before the heat stroke set in). Okay, okay I'll stop complaining now because it really is beautiful. The park is a huge area containing botanical gardens, monuments, trails, and the most amazing views of the city. In fact, most of the postcards you see with the Perth skyline are taken from Kings Park. I spent a couple hours just walking around and reading a bit about the history of the city and it's aboriginal origins. Anyway, there's not really much to tell, just pictures to be seen. So here you go, internet friends:

I know I said there are botanical gardens, but it's the dry season so not worth being photographed.

random thought

Traveling is really a funny thing because i've just started to realize that I will never be in some of these places ever again. So, I try to really take it all in in the moment because I know I will never be back. I'm not saying this about every place; of course I will return to some places, others I will make a serious effort to visit again, but some you just know you will never see again. And when you recognize that, it's a really weird feeling almost like living in a memory.


Alright, random thought over.

Christmas and New Year's Eve

Sorry it's been a while, but you can blame that on the holidays and numerous "public holidays" over here in Perth. Even after Christmas, they take extra days off because Christmas was on a Sunday and apparently they deserve more days off which leaves me without access to internet since everything is closed. I feel like that was a run-on sentence, sorry. Anyway, hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Mine was great especially considering how far away from home I am.

On Christmas day I got to see the boat for the first time! The interior still isn’t finished but it should be ready for us to move on in a week or so. It was so exciting to finally see it since I sit at home with the baby all day and everyone from home keeps asking me what the boat is like. Now I have answers!

After we stopped by the boat we had Christmas lunch at the dad’s parents’ house, which was really nice. They even had a couple of presents for me which was an unexpected and really nice surprise. Our next stop for the day was the mom’s parents’ house for Christmas dinner. Basically on Christmas we did a lot of eating. I even had presents waiting for me at the second stop as well so I think cumulatively I had a more profitable Christmas than I would’ve had at home. Sorry mom and dad. Although, mom did send my stocking from home so I had two stockings this year thanks to her and my wonderful bosses. It’s weird to call them “bosses” though since it is more like a family situation.

We ended up coming home earlier than expected from dinner since all the commotion was too much for the baby, but once we got home it was even more presents. And candy. Lots and lots of Christmas candy. The chocolate here is so good, gaining 20 lbs (I don’t know what that is in kilos) is a real threat.

New Years Eve was even more eventful as we spent the day at Perth Cup which is basically the Kentucky Derby equivalent here. We got all dressed up and I even wore a “fastenator” (fascinator?) I don’t know how to spell it, but you google it since your internet connection is arguably faster than mine, wherever and whoever you are. Or just think what Princess Beatrice wore on her head at the royal wedding, but not as intense. Whatever the case, the champagne was popped around 10:30 am so that should give you a clue as to how the rest of the day/night turned out. Another clue- by the end of the races instead of betting a measly $2 on a horse, I was up to $30. I know that’s still pathetic for most of you, but for me that’s like throwing away gold bars. Anyway, we went to the races VIP in a hummer limo so I guess that made me feel like a baller, hence the high roller gambling. (jokes)

After the races, we took the limo to Burswood Casino where the debauchery continued. This is also where the night gets hazy. (Once again, sorry mom and dad) Basically the summarized version is: drink, gamble, drink, gamble, drink, drink, drink, in bed at 10:30.

The surprise ending is that I somehow had no money by the end of the night (not really a surprise since I was throwing money away at the blackjack and roulette tables) and a kind Irishman gave me a $50 note for a cab home. Thank you, Irishman in the Australian casino. Also, thank you Jesus.

*Sidenote: apparently I was close enough to the apartment that I could’ve walked home. Whoops.