Spring Break in Borneo

Our latest SE Asia adventure took us to the island of Borneo, in the Malaysian state of Sabah.  This island is divided between three countries, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.  We were in the Malaysian part.  We flew into a town called Kota Kinabalu or KK for short.  We spent 5 nights in KK at a resort on the harbor and then we traveled out of town to a remote resort for 3 night.  It was a wonderful holiday filled with spectacular nature, delicious meals and plenty of rest.  We had a ball.  We returned to Singapore feeling ready to return to work and face a new school term.  Here are some photos and highlights from our trip...

The first place we stayed was the Sutera Harbor Resort.  It had amazing swimming pools and the kids just loved it.  

We were shocked for find sea urchins and live coral in the harbor!  This picture was taken from the boardwalk that surrounds the harbor.  It's amazing how clear the water is and how alive the ocean is.

Beautiful sunset on our first night.  

We took a day trip to see Mount Kinabalu and hike around the base of it a little bit.  There is a beautiful nature reserve and botanic garden.  We loved it.  It was stunningly beautiful and the felt very clean and smelled so fragrant and fresh.  The drive was a bit treacherous.  We had a couple of vomiting kids along the way, but that's kinda normal for us, so we travel with ways to deal.  Needless to say, the fresh mountain air was a wonderful change from the vomit filled van!

I love rule 6!!

 I'm trying to show how dense the area was.  Things were growing everywhere! 

I loved the bendy wood of this tree!  Amazing!

After the Botanic Gardens, we drove to a natural hot springs for lunch, a tree top hike and a swim.  We decided to pass on the swim.  It was really crowded at the hot springs and we were hot after our hike and the hot water didn't sound nice.

The treetop hike was a bit scary.  For starters, we didn't realize it was part of our tour.  We just signed up for a trip when we arrived at the resort and I didn't read the details.  I wanted to see Mt. Kinabalu and this was the day trip to do that.  Once we got tot the treetop hike, we realized what it was and there was no turning back.  Our bridge from one platform to the next was made out of aluminum ladders hanging from ropes with a plank of wood set across.  The ropes looked old and the netting was very brittle.  There were signs all over that said "ONLY 6 PEOPLE AT A TIME".  I assume, that's because it fell once with 7 people.  I lost count, but there were 7 or 8 bridges built in this way that we crossed.  The kids LOVED it!  They wanted to run across and jump and make it wiggle as much as possible.  I'm so happy they enjoyed it.  I was nervous, but I love the thrill.  Scott was hugging the trees in between bridges.  He made it!

This tree was GIANT. 

Back at our resort, another beautiful sunset.

We spent another couple of days swimming in the pool and relaxing at the resort.  We took a city tour of KK, but it was raining and I didn't get any great photos.  We enjoyed the history museum.  Scott spent a day diving.  He loved it!  His highlight was when a school of barracuda (maybe 1000?!) decided to circle around him!  He kept still in the center and just watched as these fish surrounded him.  Amazing!

On to our next stop!

For the final 3 nights, we stayed at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort.  I told them it was our wedding anniversary and we were greeted with this special display and note on arrival.

We were on the 4th floor and this was our view from our balcony.

Rose petals in the hot tub on the balcony!

A kids club!  A play ground!  Super fun!!

The beach was huge and gorgeous!  The sand was soft.  

Lots of food choices!  The meals were excellent.

I have a few more stories and pictures to share, but this post is long enough!  Until next time!

A Night at the Sands!!

This weekend was extra special.  The girls and I had a spectacular experience that I have to document. During the weekend, I had several surreal moments.  You know, those moments where you stop for a moment and think, "Wow, is this really happening?", "Am I really here?", "How, in the world, did I get so lucky as to have this experience in my life?".  Yeah, it was a weekend like that.

We spent the night at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel!  Marina Bay Sands is a Singapore icon.  It opened in June of 2010 and has quickly become the prominent feature of Singapore's skyline.  The girls and I were invited to spend the night at this grand and luxurious hotel to celebrate a birthday.  We got to swim in the sky pool and enjoy the amazing views.  Our weekend was filled with memories we will treasure!  Please enjoy my special photos!

The party!

The girls loved these loungers.  They slid on them as if they were slides.

What do you do with a window that reaches from the floor to the ceiling?  Draw on it of course!  The party girls filled the windows with their art, using chalk pens (that wipe off very easy!).

We are checking out the view!  

We watched the sun go down from the roof top pool.  Spectacular!

This was the first time I used my camera to take night photos.  I was pretty pleased!!

Thanks Marina Bay Sands!  You were awesome!!

Busy Bees

We've been having a lot of fun lately.  I think the kids are all at really fun ages.  I've been enjoying them.  This past week, Wyatt had a pic-nic at school.  All of the parents were invited.  I spent my time with Wyatt in the building corner.  Wyatt LOVES to build with blocks.  He builds all kids of things.  His teacher said that Wyatt never voluntarily leaves the building corner.  Silly little boy!

This photo cracks me up!  I'm still learning how to use my camera, but also really enjoying it.

We took a trip through the sensory walk.  There was a tin with crunchy leaves, one with sand and this one with water and flowers.  Wyatt and I both enjoyed it!

Silly girls!

Madeline, Lily and I went to a fun birthday party over the weekend.  I'll post separately about that, but here are a couple of snaps that I took at the party.

Love this one!!

We've only one more day of school and then we have our term break.  We're excited!  The kids are exhausted and we are all looking forward to a couple of weeks break from the school routine.  We are ready to play!