another thailand adventure...

phuket, thailand: december 17th-18th

so i will say first, thailand is my favorite place in the WHOLE world... so far! this was our 3rd time back (both dirk and i) and my fourth time back (went for a girls trip to railay in september when dirk was traveling). so to share this place with my brother was a once in a million opportunity.

we started the trip off by flying into phuket and staying one night (flights are $100 u.s.d from singapore) our goal was to really show my brother the in's & out's of patong beach. we visited the lady boy street... aka: the most confusing street in the world - ryan jacobs. we ate at our favorite banana pancake bar and dove with our favorite scuba diving company.

thailand '09

lady boys on bangela road

street vendor food... yum

mcdonalds culturally correct

long boats to take you island hopping

we dove with sea bee's dive company again. they have a great boat with cook, showers, sun deck... everything you need for a day of diving. ryan was able to dive some of the ko phi phi islands... we didn't see leopard sharks like we saw last chinese new years but the diving was still great!

hi mom! your kids are underwater!

ugliest fish ever!

sting ray

emperor angelfish (i think)- they are one of my favorites and always travel in pairs

green thai curry in a coconut- SUCCESS!

hotel in patong beach
alex & erin brown joined us on this trip- it was great having people to travel with again :)

koh lak, thailand: december 18th-22nd

we rented a car and driver and drove to koh lak which is 2 hours north of phuket and the closest land point to the similan islands. the similan's are suppose to be the top place in thailand to dive and one of the top in the world. we stayed on land this time but next time we definitely want to go back during whale shark season and do a live aboard. the diving was ten times better here than in the ko phi phi islands!

a side bar about diving... i have always loved the water... being in it, around it, swimming, diving, sailing... anything. BUT being underwater is EVEN better AND that my husband has the same love is totally exhilarating. it is a whole new world under there... bust out in little mermaid, you know you want to! we can't plan enough dive trips... especially since SE asia is our playground and has some of the best dive sites in the world!

ok off soap box... although i have to say, i am very claustrophobic AND am terrified before each dive... it is total mind over matter here... kind of a fun psyche challenge, if you are into that.

so back to koh lak... our bungalow plus open aired bathroom. if anyone cares...

towel elephants! i heart them!

only problem was... we shared the wall with my brother which made it a little awkward sometimes... hehe! especially when him and dirk got food poisoning at lunch... this never happens to me for some reason... only dirk.

happy birthday, graduation, merry christmas from dirk & chris...

the bucket
"bucket of beer" that is

so my husband is an engineer, he problem solves, especially in foreign countries... so we didn't have a cooler or ice box SO we bought the "infamous" bucket to hold our cheap thai beer in. we took this bucket everywhere... in the car, on the beach, by the pool... much cheaper than hotel beer prices. dirk even preceded to take the bucket home with us. we flew jetstar, which is a budget airline, therefore not alot of space for luggage. no problem, he just hooked it to his backpack and called it carry on luggage... i think the airport staff was too busy laughing at us to care that it exceeded the "carry on" policy. we even sent it through the scanners at security points... they had a real good laugh there. i am glad the thai people have a good sense of humor, in australia they would have called this a dirty bucket and incinerated it for sure. so lesson learned, pack a fold able cooler so we don't start collecting buckets...

the bucket is safe at home in our storage closet... i am sure it will make a debut again soon.

on to the diving.... similan islands...

dirk and his new gear... mask (that fits), fins, and wet suite...

first time to see an octopus, they are very shy, i got to see it out of the hole but when it saw me with the camera it dove back into the whole...

these huge coral fans were everywhere... much much bigger than myself! biggest i have ever seen.

bad picture... nemo hiding in his anemone

what it looked like on top of the water... all the live aboard boats around us

fishes

in the middle of the picture is one of the largest frog fish we have ever seen. it blends in with the coral.

barracuda rather close to me... it was the only one though

pretty coral

dirk. tina. ryan= happy hour :)

tina & erin
two pina colodas, one for each hand!

the last night we had a beach sunset dinner for my 29th birthday... this has to be the best way to spend any birthday! we order fresh fish, crabs, squid... it was all so yummy!

sunset is my most favorite part of the day... God is good.

best birthday present ever. in thailand. with brother. and husband. friends. and sunset dinner.
priceless

the crabs! check out the fruit decorations too!

flower or fruit! this is for you mom. this is a dragon fruit.

the gang! the browns, ryan, and the dunlaps!

my blogs are so long and not consistent... i really want to change this in the new year. i might be dreadfully detailed but i do plan on making a book out of all these so i can remember our SE ASIA adventure. i encourage everyone to do something like this for the memories...

next up... sydney trip!

happy new year!

just a preview from our sydney trip, i have too many pictures to go through...

this was on a dinner/dance cruise in the middle of darling harbor! it was awesome! sydney is 17 hours ahead of texas.


random fact:

did you know mc donlads in singapore serves curry sauce and chili sauce... and very few of them have a drive thru! singaporean's call it mc... the australian version is even funnier but i forgot...

laura just reminded me, it is macker's in australia... dirk and i cracked up over this everytime we saw the commercial...

a GREEN day...

january 14th, 2010

let me start off by saying, i really really didn't want to go to this concert and i was rather mad that dirk committed us to go. i had been working four straight days in a row and standing on my feet all day, each day. BUT! i definitely don't regret going now! it was one of the best concerts i have ever been too (i don't think anything can beat the rolling stones though, i have high expectations).

i am not much of a green day fan but i do enjoy some of their new music and most all their old music. they really rocked it though... the crowd participation was great. that is one thing singaporeans do right, they really get excited about concerts and really make the artist feel welcomed... i am sure this was a very different venue for green day. no pot smoking, no moshing, no violence in the crowd. just straight laced singaporeans enjoying the music, singing along, and laughing shyly at all the curse words. you know you are old when... you actually enjoy the concert because of all these reasons... and complain the next day that your ears hurt... haha.

the highlight of the show for me was... billy joe armstrong picked a singaporean that new all the words to one song and let him sing it on stage while the band totally rocked it... it was great! i am not sure you would get the same reaction in any other country! how awesome would it be to say you sang/rocked with green day?

some other amusing happenings... billy joe asked a singaporean her name TWICE while on stage and never asked another person their name... he had NO CLUE! don't want to make that mistake twice...

it was not surprisingly mostly ang mo's there (white people)... i don't think i have seen that many white people together under one roof in singapore. but he chose only singaporeans to go on stage. it was rather amusing too... he asked them to put their cameras away but he definitely forgot where he was... asians and their photography. so i had to bust mine out as well... don't get me wrong about the ang mo comment. their were plenty of people to diversify the venue... just it is rare to see so many white people... you kind of forget you live in asia for awhile... jamming out to american music :)

yes, very illegal to take video so please don't report me! it really was a great concert and i am very glad we went! here are two videos of them playing...

do you know your enemy?


minority

Random Fact:

green day has been a band over 20 years and this was their first time to singapore... i wonder if they will come back?

we were wondering if before the concert they were smoking out in the back... but remembering where we are, probably not. death by hanging for illegal drugs was probably not what they were thinking their first time to singapore...

BFF

january 17th, 2010

i am taking a tip from a fellow blogger and delving into something more honest than just where we have been and what exotic location we are going to next... although stay tuned for cedu, philippines on chinese new year. lane... i am taking your lead, although i would settle for just a baby than a fibroid, and the gender wouldn't matter so much to me (i admire your honesty)...

tonight... my bestfriend left for china (ya ya ya i know... mushy gushy stuff) but honestly, i never thought our relationship could have gotten stronger than after going through are very tension filled wedding and a tumor baby. but as many challenges we are faced with... we just keep getting closer. i know you are thinking... isn't that what is suppose to happen? doesn't this happen for everyone? you never really realize it unless you look back, unless you appericate, and unless you are faced with challenges that are bigger than yourself.

don't get me wrong, i always knew that we would prevail, i always had faith... i mean you have to inorder to pick up everything you have known, worked for, loved, (hell the comfort factor)... and move half way around the world with someone... i look back, i mean WAY back... to college, we were so different then. so young. so naive. so passionately in love that it was hurting us. (ok... i am making myself sick)

point being... this leap of faith, this idea of an adventure, this "your only young once and now is the time to travel"... i couldn't have picked a better person to share my life with.

you ask... what brings all this on? well... when your husband realizes one day that "you really are my bestfriend"... it is a big deal. when he relies on you for support, for advice, for love...

so this brings me back to singapore... am i glad we moved? do i like it here? am i weak for following my husband's career and putting him first? not to say that we still won't be the same couple back in the states... but i now know, we have always been speical, we are lasting, and no matter how many people stand in our way... telling us we are not good for each other... THEY are wrong!

P.S. i love you! (this movie always comes on when dirk is away for work... )




another new thing....


RANDOM fact about Singapore...

there is a mosque around the corner from us and every friday there are cars lined up for miles... i always thought it was school getting out early but dirk told me, they go to pray on fridays... learn something new each day... i am going to ask my muslim friend what exactly it stands for...

happy birthday to me!

decemeber 22, 2009... 29th birthday

best birthday present EVER... my brother being in singapore

we also went to thailand to scuba dive and don't forget dinner at chili's!

i didn't want a proper birthday cake.... just bring me the chocolate molten cake

YUM YUM (laura, i know i made you jealous)

dirk bought me a blue topaz necklace (in this picture)... it is my birthstone.

i was so happy! with two out of three of my favorite men in my life... well actually out of four if you include our furry male pup!

Four Continents... One Month...

november 12th-december 1st 2009: home leave number two

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA... you are so sweet!


wow this home leave really took it out of us... it was so busy and jammed packed with seeing everyone plus thanksgiving... it was nice to be home but nicer to have our own place, our dog, and not being pulled in 20 million directions when we arrived back to singapore. i know! you think poor poor dunlaps... it is great to have so many people to see and that want to see us! the life of an expat is hard work!

HOUSTON!

our first stop every time home is to pappasitos mexican restaurant and then to little woodrows for happy hour! you know, important stuff first! we were lucky enough to stay with the bruce family for the first two days which allowed us to readjust to the time difference and to catch up with all our houston friends! in the first couple of days we were able to see so many people... i attended ashley moses baby shower and caught up with all my sorority sister. we even attended our friends farah & patrick armstrong's house warming party... they just moved back to katy from singapore. we miss them so so so much here!

so here is a run down of the whole trip...

ashley moses' baby shower
me, dayna, jenn, leah, katie, caroline (back row)
lane, ashley, ginger, and amber

ashley invited me to her baby shower in houston which was absolutely lovely. i miss seeing these girls and being apart of their lives. ashley and rj are having a little girl (campbell- love it, it is a family name) and lane is pregnant with her second baby (lucy- i hope, also a family name).

SAN ANTONIO...

we spent a couple of days in houston just seeing friends then headed to san antonio to see dirk's family and highschool friends. in san antonio we were able to take in a spurs game and hangout with the sa crew. we were able to hangout with dirk's sister but unfortunately dirk's younger brother, zach, had just moved to san francisco.

dirk and lela (his sister)

the sa crew at stone werks

the mills, the dunlaps, the boreckels, the kripners, and the woltersdorfs

andy boerckel, ryan kripner, and dirk

COLLEGE STATION...

no trip home during football season would be complete without taking in an a&M football game and tailgating party. dirk and i took a break from seeing family and friends in san antonio and went to the baylor vs a&m game. we were also able to see the texas game too... that one didn't go so well.

nothing like a game of flip cup to know you are home in the u.s.a

our friends in houston have season tickets to all the a&m games and put together this awesome tailgate. every tailgate is themed based on food. baylor was the annual fish fry... they have a big screen tv, margarita machines, kegerator with tap, and surround sound music system all under one huge white tent. they have a great setup and keep adding to it every year.

the fmc tailgate at the baylor game

we haven't been to the fmc tailgate in two years and let me tell you it is HUGE now! i couldn't believe how big it has gotten. dirk was able to meet up with some work friends but since most of our houston friends work for fmc, it isn't hard not to see everyone without even going into the office.

catherine helle

hanging out with my cat on northgate... miss this girl very much! she came to the game without her boyfriend (bonham was in africa) just to hangout! i am thinking it was for me! hehe

BROTHER!

we went to college station to see the game but more importantly to see my brother dunk his aggie ring. he is finally getting closer to graduation with a major in industrial distribution-engineer field. he also got a puppy for his birthday from his girlfriend, kelly.

meet doobie & ryan

matt lewis was another friend that made the voyage to college station to hangout. i miss this guy so much! he and dirk kept me in stitches all weekend! everyone needs a matt lewis in their life :)

THE DUNK!

17 seconds... enough said.

ryan & ring

proud sister

kelly & ryan

CONCAN...

ok... so back to san antonio and then onto uvalde, texas and concan, texas... are you tired yet? we were in the car SO much! we were able to see all of dirk's lovely extended family, help put up his grandmother's (jo bill & jo jo) christmas lights, plus finally make a walmart run. the river was beautiful at this time of year... i just love all the colors!

we looked into some property by the river as well... thinking of a river house that will help pay for itself by renting it out while we are in singapore... we will see.

the inlaws
me, dirk, doug, and marge dunlap

dirk, me, chelsea, and ryan

dirk's aunt has a house right next to his parent's river house and we got to see his cousin chelsea and her fiancee ryan while we were there. they are getting married may 1st up in concan by the river. so sad to miss it.

PARTY IN THE u.s.a!

back to HOUSTON...

i got to meet up with some of my friends in houston. we of course all met at a mexican food restaurant and then went out for drinks. i am so proud of all my friends... we managed to break away from our hometowns and really start lives outside of our realm of comfort in katy. sarah is in tampa, florida doing her medical sales gig, ashley is in residency in charleston, north carolina, and beth is in houston finishing her optometrist schooling... love them to death and so glad we have been able to keep up with each other.

i remember mom telling me "the people you meet in highschool will be friends for life" then thought that possible until now.

me, sarah, beth, and ashley

dayna joined us for dinner as well

the gang- ashley's husband was still in north carolina doing his residency as well

back to COLLEGE STATION...

for thanksgiving we were able to take in the infamous texas vs a&m game. in the end the game didn't turn out in our favor but the first couple of minutes sure were exciting!

back to KATY...

quick lunch with a very special person! FARAH! miss her so much in singapore, but lucky that she lives very close to my parents so we will keep in touch :)

HOUSTON finally leaving...

michelle bruce, melissa lewis, me, catherine helle, and anne duermeyer

the last night we joined friends for dinner and drinks... i miss these girls very much! we are all connected through our significant others due to their friendships made in college. i love spending time with them.

bonham lienweber, cody reynolds, preston bruce, dirk dunlap, matt lewis, and phillip gay

all the boys on the last night! some aren't in the picture (mitchell martin and kevin simpson) we were at a new bar on washington called taps.

funny thing... they all work for the same company in houston... that is how close these guys are.

HELLO SINGAPORE

this is what happens when you have a 14 hour time difference... you wake up to see the sun rise for a week.

at sentosa with otto.

we had a great trip but it really took it out of us. we were also able to see our wonderful neighbors... the only people that will actually come visit us besides family and dirk's friends that come to singapore due to work... which has happened fairly often to far... it is good to have friends that you work with :)

so ONE continent down... three to go!