25 February, 2015

A month!

It's been almost a month since I've blogged.  And oh, what a month it's been!  I came down with a sinus infection not long after my last post (imagine feelings of shattered cheek bones and numb teeth), and had a day off work, only to return in time for my birthday where I was brought cards by my students telling me how wonderful I was and wished well by colleagues and had a thoroughly lovely day.

Cue one week later and I was struck down with Shingles (something I've had too many times before) and ended up having another 3 days off work during which time Matt took me away to a hotel for our 22nd wedding anniversary (a little stay-cation down the road), and I shared a birthday celebration with a friend.  Back to work for a day , only to be told that I had to stay off work because of a change in my working permit (due to Matt changing his), so two more days off work.  Throw into that 2 days off for Chinese New Year, and I feel like I've hardly been there this month.  And I'm off to Chang Mai, Thailand next week for 5th grade camp for a week.  9 days of work in February so far!  And no more sick days left...

A busy month indeed.  Over Chinese New Year, Matt booked a little getaway to Batam, an island in Indonesia accessible by ferry from Singapore.  It's not the most luxurious Indonesian island (don't think Bali), but it was so nice to get away, and even nicer to do it by boat!









 The resort was fine- a little past it's day, but not horrendous by any means.


 This was the little beach...at high tide.  It was nice, except there were signs for stone fish and jelly fish, and when you swam you got covered in little bits of tar/oil washing up from all the ships out in the straights.  It was still nice to be by the sea.
 And to swim in the pool (even when the turkeys were out on their morning walk- can you spot them?).  The swim up bar was pretty nice too.
 That, over there, is Singapore; so you really feel like you're not that far away, even though Indonesia is really another world when you get away from the resorts.
 Being Chinese New Year, there were lots of little offerings, and lion dances, and banquets etc.
 Low tide: a whole other world.
 I kind of wished we'd stayed in these traditional Javanese villas which had the sea right up under them at high tide.  We ate at the seafood restaurant at the end of this pier 3 out of our 4 nights.  Lovely open and breezy.
 Singapore on the horizon from the end of the pier.


 The fancy new resort next door (at low tide).  Lots of local guys out catching something this time of day.





 Ella kept making friends with the local resort stray cats.  We named this little sweety "Sandy" after she came and hung out with us for an hour while we built sandcastles on the beach. Ella also made friends with "Soxy", "Stockings" and "Shitty".




 Sandcastles: a favorite thing for Ella and me to do.   We even brought out own buckets.
 I enjoyed sifting through the sand as the waves crashed in and finding bits of coral and shells to decorate the castles.  It was like making nature mandalas.


I have more photos loading from my phone onto iCloud, but it's late and I need my sleep.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for that, if not before time....hope you are at last getting better...hope that dog of yours was getting enough exercise while you were gadding about SE Asia without him... Anyway must be time for drumming practice...
    love
    Dad

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