Railay Beach, Krabi, Thailand - beautiful beach

Krabi - or rather Railay - was every bit as gorgeous as we thought it would be.  Breathtaking.  And, as expected, the hotel was so so but for the price and the location it was absolutely fine.  The room, with 2 extra beds set up for the kids, and breakfast every morning for all 5 of us was about US$100/night smack dab beachfront.  And like I say - it's not a $400/night experience, but we are not willing to pay for the $400/night experience assuming that's what it would cost.

Still, maybe we have been watching too much hotel impossible but it seems so easy to improve on service.  I mean really.  Have enough pool towels.  Check the ladies room and make sure there is enough toilet paper.  Just be really, really, amazingly nice. Is that so hard?

Probably the best part of the trip was the weather.  We were prepared for rain every day and somehow we had blue skies for the whole weekend. Railay is a small stretch of beach - it's not an island but because it's surrounded by limestone 'bluffs', it is only accessible by boat.  So to get there you must fly to Krabi (less than 90 minutes from Singapore) and then about 30 minutes ride to a boat, 15 mins on the boat to a small pier on the east side of Railay (not the beach side) then a 5 minute golf cart ride to the hotel. The trip is easy and fun. Granted it was not raining.  Rain would put a damper on it for sure.

The Sand Sea Resort was fine - that's it.  just fine.  We are spoiled in Singapore with a fabulous pool so easily underwhelmed by mediocre pools like the one there.  But the kids loved it and that's what matters. Interesting to note that the hotel is Halal so no pork (yay) and no alcohol (whatevs). People brought beer from nearby minimarts.  We don't mind or really notice. I mean I would maybe have a drink if it was there but not at all a necessity. The other hotel right on the beach there is the Railay Bay. Probably also fine. I talked to some other visitors and it seems most of the hotels are kind of run down, kind of so-so service, just par for the course at Railay Beach. I would be tempted to try a nicer hotel in Krabi and take a boat over to Railay for the day another time but this was really perfect for what we wanted.

The days are easily spent just on the beach, but if one were so inclined there are also tons of activities you can sign up for and do - the most popular being rock climbing.  I guess Krabi and Railay are famous rock climbing destinations.  We were even going to do a half-day trip but it did not end up happening. Lesson learned - if you want to do something, just sign up and do it asap. Day one we arrived late in the afternoon and went to the beach.  Had dinner at the hotel. Nice day. 

Day two we had breakfast buffet (yay) and basically hung out on the beach most of the day. In what is not my best mom moment I admit I forgot to pack sunscreen.  Day two - the first whole day there- we were all kind of without it. So on day 3 - Sunday- most of the family had a sunburn. The kids did not want to rock climb with a sunburn so we decided ok, we'll do it tomorrow - Monday- weather-permitting. The weather was beautiful.  However.... all the kids and my husband were sick with a bellyache. The 2 little kids (7 and 9) were in bed most of the day. My husband and older son not quite so severe - they even got to sea kayak a little in the morning - but they were not in good shape. I felt fine but just hung around the room most of the day taking care of the rest of the group. 

Just for information, a half day rock climbing tour ended up being about SGD30/US$ 20. Seemed like a good deal. 

Some basics on Railay beach - you can walk from east to west in less than 10 minutes along a cute, well-lit pedestrian alley. If we came with no kids, we would probably stay on east Railay.  East Railay looks over the water and there are lots of hotels - most of them look pretty decent - and also lots of restaurants, bars, massage places, etc.  Basically more happening. But there is no beach. The people who stay there just meander over to 'our side' of the place and hit the beach for a while then go back. We had dinner a couple of times at East Railay - again Halal btw - cheaper than the hotel and really good Thai food.  I had a massage every day except the last when I was going to spring for a fancy one but ended up keeping an eye on the sick family.  oh well - I did enjoy my foot massage and then my oil massage (about $12 for an hour). The fancier places were probably around $30-$40 for an hour and amazing but alas, I can only imagine. Again, do things when you can do them.

a bit of current events, Thai style:

As it turns out, it's a good thing we went to this beautiful beach when we did. One week later - on 7 August, the people of Thailand had an election to accept or reject a draft constitution. You see, Thailand has been ruled by a military government for over 2 years.  They took over in a coup in 2014. Anyway - so the people voted and accepted this draft constitution. Well, almost a week later several cities in Thailand were affected by bomb attacks. Total of four people died, many more injured, in an obvious attempt to scare tourists and people. This happened day before yesterday and yesterday. Krabi was not affected but Phuket was, another place that is super popular. we were there last year. 

So who knows if that's it or if the 'bad guys' will continue to terrorize the Thais and all the tourists of the world who come to enjoy their beaches. I only know that for the next long weekend from Singapore, I think we will try a different country. Unfortunately. I had been planning to go back to Krabi.

Oh, and  I ended up buying sunscreen.  A tiny tube for $12. While the huge SPF 50 banana boat tube I still have from target was sitting in my living room right by where the suitcase had been.

view looking to the right

view looking to the left

this pic does not do it justice - this is a really cute 'street' 2 min walk from the hotel - full of cafes/smoothie places/shops/offices to arrange rock climbing or diving trips.  that's the beach in the back and some random people walking.

transportation to Railay Beach

Summertime 2016 and a planning a getaway to Krabi, Thailand

China came and went - twice - but back to that later.  Lots to tell about Beijing and Shanghai.

Now, at the end of the summer, we are planning a last minute getaway to Krabi...

I have come to learn a few things about myself and how I plan for and enjoy travel.  Firstly, I am generally a last minute planner.  I'll think, research, email hotels, read blogs, figure out almost everything, plan on how many days of work to take off, but that final click, the final 'submit', well it takes a while.

I have also come to learn that I really enjoy the anticipation of a trip.  Ironic since, due to my aforementioned proacrastination, the actual anticipation period is generally quite short.  Like the latest getaway - we finally last night booked the flight for a long weekend in Krabi, Thailand - leaving three days from now. We were debating and debating - should we go away?  Should we spend the money?  (not at all a lot of money for a few days at a beautiful Thai beach but still).  Then, about to click the submit button and I googled the weather.  Oh no, it's all clouds.  Should we say forget it?

The thing is, and most people living in Singapore will agree with this, Singapore is a nice life but it's a small place, and once in a while most people need a change of scenery.  This is our third summer here, and it's a strange summer for us as a family. Why?  Because we are considering leaving Singapore.  As a matter of fact we thought that might happen this very summer.  Hence we did not plan on visiting family as we have done the past 2 summers.  So for the whole 9 weeks so far we have been here doing a whole lotta nothing.  My work has been unusually flexible which is much appreciated, so I have been able to work from home often, keeping 'half an eye' on my three kids.  The kids did not go to any type of camp - they were home, playing, a few lessons here and there (tennis/piano) at the condo.  Luckily we live in a condo with lots of kids so they go down on their own and play or arrange playdates with multiple kids at anyone's apartment.  According to most people I know, at least in the U.S., the kids had too much 'down time', too much video game time, too much tv time..... but for me it was a no-brainer.  Day camps are 500-700 dollars per week per child here, and on top of that the kids didn't want to go, so that was an easy decision.  And the best thing of all that I discovered is that my kids really like to play with each other.  Especially the 7 and 9-year-olds.  Maybe that won't last forever, so I'll enjoy it while it does.  Also for the past years I have been working full time and dealing with a long commute.  For over two years I left the house every morning before the kids woke up and didn't even see them before they went to school.  So to be able to be around, have them around, nobody rushing anywhere and just be with them has been really nice.

That's enough about the strange summer - back to Krabi.  It's a close, inexpensive flight.  Less than 2 hours and just over US$100 round trip per person.  We went to Phuket last year, which was beautiful, and everyone says Krabi beach is even more gorgeous.  Next issue was hotel - we learned from our last trip to Thailand that basically we stay at the beach and the hotel.  So the stretch of beach is important.  Krabi beach is all really pretty but the most special beach is one called Railay.  It is surrounded by limestone formations so the only way to get to this part of the beach is by longtail boat.  After several conversations we decided to stay at Railay beach.  The hotel is not as fancy as the one we would have gone to on the other beach but it seems up our alley.  As for the weather, well we'll be right there on the beach so even if it's cloudy, once the rain stops we can just go out and enjoy the beach.  My 13-year-old son said we need to bring rain survival kits, so today we went to the library to stock up on books.

We will be staying at the Sand Sea Resort on Railay's west beach (the 'good beach').  Not the fanciest hotel but great location and, most importantly, they will allow our family of five in one room. We pay for 2 extra beds but that's much more reasonable than getting 2 rooms which was the case at other hotels I contacted.  The other hotel we considered was the Amari Vogue.  It looks great but it's not on Railay beach.  I would have done 2 nights and 2 nights but that was quickly outvoted in my household.  Oh well.

No pix yet - I plan to have some really nice ones after the weekend.
And plan to come back relaxed and refreshed after daily cheap thai massages.  Let's see how it goes.

Not always great to be an American. .. preparing for China

Living in Singapore I would say there are three major destinations to visit - let's call them "the big three" - China, Japan and India.  Three beautiful, interesting cultures that are so much closer than they are from home.  We went to Japan last year and not my family and I are finally going to travel to China later this month.  (hopefully India is on the horizon...) We are psyched that we were able to get all 5 tickets on Singapore Air (ooh la la) with no money out of pocket.  Well, that sensation has gone from "yay we got the tickets for free" to "at least we got the tickets for free! "

I will detail the planning stages of the trip, especially for anybody out there who has dual nationality including U.S. and plans on visiting China.  The process to get a visa is simple and straightforward here in Singapore.  You don't even have to go to the embassy. They have a separate visa processing center.  Easy peasy. We made an appointment online and showed up last week only to be told we need the hotel reservation.  Ok-our bad. They assured us the process takes only 4 working days so plenty of time.

So we came back today,  2 weeks before or departure for Beijing. We knew that I, as a U.S. passport holder, had to pay SG $240 for a 10-year multiple entry visa. Thankfully my husband and 3 kids have 2 passports-U.S. and Spain. The visa for Spain is SG $90 (US$72). We wait in line and hand over our documents to the document-checker and. ... she tells us the kids have to get a visa using the U.S. passport since their nationality on the Singapore ID is American. Are you kidding me????? $1000+ in visas for a few days in Beijing? Had we known we probably would have stayed for more days to get the most out of the visa.  I doubt the kids will go back to China in the next 10 years.

Annoyed,  we took a taxi to the government office that issued the ID cards and asked how we would change the nationality.  Not surprisingly it takes a while.  No chance.

So back to the apartment to get the U.S. passports and back to the via processing center where we currently wait to fork over a whole lotta cash to the government of China for the privilege of visiting.

In more positive news we have reserved a cool-looking hotel in the hutong area walkable to some of the sites in Beijing.  Looking forward to seeing the great Wall - we might even take the luge down -  and hopefully doing a bike tour of the city.  That is if we ever get our visas.  They should be ready on Monday.  To be continued.....

waiting for our number to be called... and waiting... and waiting

turns out you can take the pix you need right there for cheaper than other places... and I found out there are APPS where you can take your own passport/visa picture and print it!  If I only knew!!!  We paid $45 for 8 pix of each child.

the application...

Blue Mountain Kelong - a true getaway

walkway to the island

taken from our balcony - must be the 'blue mountain'

I said to my kids, "one day you will be in a place that is trying to imitate this, but this one is the real thing."  We spent the long easter weekend at the Blue Mountain Kelong.  Kelong is a Malay term for a wood house built on stilts.  A co-worker of mine recommended this place to me for a quick getaway from Singapore, and I'm really glad he did.  I have to say I have never been to such a rustic 'hotel', and it turned out to be a really beautiful, relaxed, special weekend for my entire family.  I was a bit nervous with the basic accommodation - no a/c, no hot water and toilets that flush into the sea, no modern amenities.   It's not the most private rooms - the walls don't actually go all the way up to the ceiling, so you can hear people talk, snore, whatever.  That was not my favorite part.  The sun is upa t six and so are the guests - definitely the small children, and you can hear them.  But all in all it was amazing.  The staff is great - really caring and accommodating.

the kitchen

How did we get there?  Ferry (about an hour) to the Indonesian island of Batam - there we were picked up by a van and we crossed Batam to the domestic ferry where we, along with 2 other families, boarded a charter speedboat about 1/2 hour til we reached the kelong.  Home sweet home.  The hotel takes care of all of the transportation, lodging and food.
The best part of the experience - the view?  The people?  Getting away from it all?  Hard to say - all of the above.  My kids had the best time swimming in the ocean, touching sea cucumbers, trying to fish (didn't catch much), playing board games and lazing in the hammock. They made friends with other kids there as we made enjoyed chatting with their parents.  Most of the clientele is from Singapore.  About 30 people fit comfortably at one time at the hotel.  One evening while my husband and I were talking to some of the other guests, our 3 kids went to the room to play games.  I went to the room to check on them and I saw some small shoes by the door - when I went in I found not only my kids but the 3 little boys from another family.  My 12-year-old reassured me 'mom it's ok; their parents know they are here."  So I left them all playing.

Meals are cooked by the staff and served family style.  The food is local - based on seafood, rice, veggies and papaya from the kelong's garden nearby.  They serve breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner.  Snack was fried bananas one day and the next day a local sweet green bean soup.  Each meal was excellent.

My husband and I both enjoyed massage for SGD15/hour (about US$10).  I had 2 massages during my 3 days.  I already regret not having more!  Maybe my favorite moment was getting a massage in one of the wood rooms, seeing the sea through the plank floor and hearing the water when all of a sudden it started to rain - really rain - and the experience was enhanced by the breeze and the sound of the storm.

I chose to hang at the kelong while my family joined a guide and several other guests on a 'jungle trek' on the island. Turned out to be a little more difficult than they thought.  My seven-year-old came back crying and limping, showing me the scrape on her leg.  The boys had a ball.  Another day they took us and another family to a nice beach about a 20-minute boat ride away.  Found amazing shells and played in and out of the water for about an hour.

Every night at 10 pm they raise the trawler net and see what is in there - one night it was some squid which the kitchen staff cut up and served 'sashimi style' with soy sauce.  I did not partake but my husband and son did along with many other guests.  They all loved it.

All in all this was really a fabulous weekend.  It's not for everyone, that's for sure, but if you are located in Singapore and are looking for a quiet, nature-oriented weekend to 'chillax', check out the blue mountain kelong.

one of 2 tables in the dining area

view of the kelong from the water

the coast near the kelong - a fisherman lives in that house.

  

example of one of the meals - fried shrimp, veggies, jackfruit green curry, chicken wings, red chicken curry, white rice and tofu with onions.  all you can eat.  beverage choices - water, coke, carlsberg beer.

our room - 3 of the 5 beds.  very comfy! all local wood.

the famous potty that flushes into the sea - shower is also there - not hot water but you don't miss it.

example of the walkway - - - roof made of palm fronds - everything made of local wood.  You can see the island in the background.  Few people live there.

map in the kelong showing its location - see Singapore?  

the stilts (and I guess the "plumbing"?)

bright bright moon - beautiful.

so much to do in the mall without actually shopping! Orchard Gateway

On Saturday, I spent a few hours at Orchard Gateway mall; the reason for that particular mall was that it is next to - attached to - the mall where I had an appointment for my haircut at 3 pm, so we (sort of ) made an afternoon of it and managed to do quite a few things that don't count as actually shopping.

My husband, three kids and I took a taxi from our apartment to the mall.  Ok technically we could walk but it's definitely a schlep and, as always, it was blazing hot so that was that.  Then it took some convincing to get my husband to cheerfully agree to take a taxi when we also could take a bus. Thing is, the bus is a few minutes' walk and it goes in sort of a roundabout way to get there, and it's about 80 cents per person.  The taxi, door-to-door, was $6.00 so.... taxi it is.

First stop was to my guilty pleasure - Korean fried chicken at a place called four fingers.  If you like fried chicken you should really try the Korean variety.  It's magical.

After lunch we bid adieu to my husband and two smaller children and my almost-13-year-old and I headed to the library that is, of course, in the mall (genius! see older blog post all about that library branch) but the best part is that my son had put a few books on hold, and the system go retrieve them  is totally automated.

you scan your card and it shows the books you have on hold

it warns you to stand back...

shows you which locker will open...

the locker lights up....

and... voila! there's your book.  extremely cool library experience.

Then, after my haircut, I met up with my son again.  We went down to the B1 level which is sort of Japanese-themed. We got ice cream cones at a place called 'Maccha house".  One day I'm gonna sit there and have some real food!  Check it out:

menu Maccha House.

My seriously green green tea ice cream cone

display case of at Maccha House

Now... also at B1 is a big story called Tokyo Hands; it's a Japanese store that has so many cool things, from pens, stickers, makeup, kitchen stuff to great backpacks and wallets.  Really fun store to browse.  Today I 'browsed' the Japanese lunchmaking accessories.  I had heard - on NPR nonetheless - that in Japan the parents make elaborate lunches for their kids to take to school.  At Tokyo Hands I saw all these cool gadgets to make fun seaweed-rice balls and they also sell stamps for sausages.

All in all a fun time at Orchard Gateway mall!

to make cute panda seaweed rice things

happy face rice stamps

  

sausage stamps!!

A day in the heartland of Singapore - Toa Payoh

I am lucky to live in the central area of Singapore, about a ten minute walk from the famous Orchard Road.  But the truth is most of Singapore's 5 million inhabitants live scattered throughout the island, well-connected to the central areas.  Yesterday my family and I went to explore one of the 'heartland' areas of Singapore - Toa Payoh, one of the first residential communities in Singapore.  One of those days where I was in charge of the plan.

What drew me to spend the afternoon in Toa Payoh?  The answer to that is the Dragon Playground.  I had read about this playground structure in several blogs and websites, and I happen to have a seven and nine-year old who absolutely adore good old-fashioned playgrounds, so the plan was made.

Once I started digging around about what else there was to do in Toa Payoh, I found another cool playground and a Chinese Monastery.  Now we're talking!  The weather cooperated, which is never a given in Singapore, so after lunchtime off we went on the #5 bus heading north for about 20 minutes.

The Dragon Playground was ok - iconic but it was the only thing to climb in the small area, so it was a bit underwhelming.  Soon thereafter we headed over to the Toa Payoh Sensory Park - like a glorified playground surrounded by the typical Singapore HDB government housing. The kids had a ball.  Adjacent to that park was a great food center - on the famous 'hawker centers' so we each got our favorite fresh juice (mine is "ABC" - Apple, Beet, Carrot - juiced fresh for a whopping $2.50) - found one more playground for good measure and then meandered through a maze of HDBs until reaching the pedestrian gate to the Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery, where we were lucky enough to witness the end of a ceremony.  Beautiful place where the kids each carefully lit an incense stick.  I would have stayed much longer but we were already there past the 5 pm closing time.

Next family day one of the kids chooses the plan - let's see what they pick.

Dragon from Dragon Playground Toa Payoh

the kids climb 'in' the dragon

service in session at the temple

hello little cool statue!!

when the wind blows you can hear the bells ring

incense - always smells so good at Chinese temples!

Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery

Singapore's 3 month long holiday season

For Americans like me, the holiday season starts at Thanksgiving.  OK maybe it starts at Halloween, but that's more like the coming attractions.

With Thanksgiving the official kickoff, we have just concluded with the 2015/2016 multicultural 3-month-long holiday season consisting of Thanksgiving/Diwali/Hanukkah/Christmas/New Years and of course Chinese New Year.  Whew.   And the kids had 3 weeks off for Christmas and then another 10 days for Chinese New Year (CNY).

This was my third such holiday season living in Singapore and we have really enjoyed each and every one.  It's kind of like this time of year emphasizes the best and the worst of living so far from home.  The decorations are amazing and it's really fun to learn about other cultures' traditions, and to celebrate with new friends.  Of course they are tough days to be far from family, and it's up to us to keep all the traditions going for our children, never mind get all the gifts.

Here are some glimpses into this year's festivities:

This 14.5 pound turkey cost about US$150!!! Organic Schmorganic... here I buy frozen butterball, something I would never ever do in the U.S.

Video games set you back in Singapore but hey - it's Hanukkah

the Singapore menorah lighting on Orchard Road - complete with Hasidic music

more xmas decorations - 10 minute walk from my apartment

xmas decorations at Tanglin

the famous Orchard Road at Christmas

No xmas cartoons on tv.... thanks to youtube we watched the original rudolph on tv - and my kids loved it!

had a nice xmas lunch with friends and look at this monkey jumping around right by the restaurant

Recently we saw the end of the pilgrimage that forms part of the south Indian Tamil celebration called Thaipusan .  The devotees walk for hours with body piercings.  In the background check out the Indian temple - one of many in Singapore.  Tamil is one of the four official languages here (the others are English, Mandarin and Malay)

this is the year of the monkey in the Chinese zodiac