Wildlife in Australia

     While we were in Katoomba we saw a lot of wildlife. From our deck we had a good view of a field and some trees. One evening my mom was out on the deck and she saw some movement in the field. She looked over and saw a fox! We got a few pictures and it went back into the bushes. After that we thought about it and realized that Australia is known for its dingos so maybe the fox was really a dingo. We looked online and looked at the differences. We found that a dingo is basically a wild dog and the easiest difference to spot is the black legs on the fox and not on the dingo. We looked at the pictures, but we couldn't see the legs of the fox because it was in some brush. After that we looked out the window and saw another fox (or dingo). We all stormed onto the deck and scared it off, we were all bummed, but Jenna saw that it had black legs like a fox. After that I was setting up my hammock on the deck and my mom was searching where to go to see a wallaby (basically a small kangaroo). When I looked up I saw a black thing in the fields, when I looked closer I saw a wallaby. I ran inside to grab my camera and I came back out and watched it for a few minutes. After a little, the wallaby hopped back behind the bushes.

     A few days later we were going to a youth conference, while we were driving we passed a kangaroo crossing sign. A couple of minutes later we saw a dead kangaroo on the side of the road. Later in the trip we saw dozens of kangaroos behind little fences. All of them were wild and the little fence was to separate them from the road (I think). We saw a few hopping around and it was pretty cool.

     There were these birds that are beautiful with their white feathers, and you're thinking wow that bird is pretty cool until it lets out its death screech. It literally sounds like its dying all the time. You can't go five minutes without hearing one of them. There are also other kinds of birds, there are small ones that look like parakeets and other ones that are great big black birds. Australia has all sorts of cool wildlife, and I don't know if New Zealand will be able to beat it.

How does it fly with that big head?

Wallaby, it kind of looks like a really big bunny

Fox (not dingo)

Malaysia and Singapore

This post is a summary of my experiences in Malaysia and Singapore.

My Office - 2013-03-27

This first one was on the 8-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney.

This second one was on the deck at the house we rented outside of Sydney in a little tourist town of Katoomba. We loved it here. We saw foxes, wallabies, and a wide variety of colorful and loud birds in the fields and trees you can see behind me.

Gambling on the Internet

This is a technology post. If you are not interested I won't be offended if you don't read the rest.

I didn't realize I was a gambler until I took a chance and got burned.

Culture Shock in Singapore

Last November when we arrived in India I experienced culture shock. India was so different from anywhere I had ever been before. At times it seemed like sensory overload with all the sights, sounds, and smells. It was hard seeing so much poverty and dirt everywhere. But at the same time it was exciting with all the colors and smells and things to see. India is a place that has to be "experienced."

As we continued through other countries in South East Asia there were other moments of culture shock. But it was quite mild compared to what I had experienced in India.

Marina Bay

Yesterday we went to Marina Bay.  We left from our hotel and went to the subway station. We had never been on the subway here so we had to figure it out.  Once we figured it out we went down to the platform it was really nice.  There were doors in front of the tracks so you couldn't fall in and the whole thing was colored, unlike most subways which are grey.  We stayed on the subway for a while then got off.  When we got out of the subway we walked towards the famous "Merlion" which is a statue that is half mermaid and half lion.  On our way there we took some pictures of one of the strangest buildings I've ever seen.  It had three towers with a boat on top!  I think it was a hotel and casino.  After, we kept walking towards the Merlion.  When we got there we realized it was as weird as it sounded.  It was a white statue that was 20 feet tall of a "Merlion" we took a few pictures and moved on.  As we walked a long the bay we say a giant Ferris wheel, like The London Eye, a strange looking science museum, and all sorts of strange skyscrapers.  None of the skyscrapers were square, it was almost as if they were having a contest to see who could have the strangest. There was everything from long and skinny ones to ones that seemed like they should tip over.  We kept walking around and as we got to the base of the three towers with the boat on top we found a mall.  We went in and noticed that there was an ice skating rink. We thought it was weird.  Then we got some food that was pretty good. After that we went out to see the light show. The three towers had projectors on them that projected on the fountains and the lights made made movies of people and other things.  It was pretty cool what they could do with just some fountains and lights.  When that was done we took the metro back home.

the subway station

Jenna jumping in front of the towers

Yes that is a boat on top, kind of strange

the merlion and three towers

on the left is the Ferris wheel then in the middle is the science museum
and on the right is the three towers

ice skating! to bad we didn't do it

Tioman - MY point of view

I really enjoyed the island of Tioman in Malaysia. It's basically your stereotypical tropical island, with super clear water and nice beaches. It was way fun to go snorkeling, because the ocean water was as clear as swimming pool water. The thing I didn't like about Tioman, was that I got sick part way through.

Tioman Island

Here in Malaysia on the island of Tioman we have been staying on a beach. Everyday the tide is super high and super low.  Every time the tide is low I have gone and looked for shells. There are four beaches that we have been to on the island. The beach normally has no one on it. 

 At each beach I have found different types of shells. At one of the beaches I found a bunch of cone shaped shells. On that same beach a monkey opened our backpack, opened a package of crackers and took some crackers. A monkey also took our trash. At another beach I found a bunch on Hermit crab Shells.

I have found some really cool shells. Often I have have to dig for the shells or go out in the water and look. There are so many different colors and shapes of shells. There are so many shells I can not walk on the beach without stepping on some. 

I have named each type of shell. Biter is a shell that looks like it has teeth. Ice Cream looks like a scoup of ice cream with chocolate sauce on it. The Pyramids have cools bumps and colors and are in the shape of a cone. Swirly is  a long skinny shell with little bumps all over it.

Jenna and I have both been finding and collecting shells. We like to go out on the balcony and trade shells. We have been here for 10 days so I have quite a big collection. Here are some pictures of where I got my shells. I will and pictures of the shells on an update.

Monkey beach where I found lots of my shells

Beach near where  we stayed

beach near where we stayed

Almost Perfect Vacation

We have spent the last 10 days on Tioman Island which is off the coast of Malaysia.  We have had a great time swimming in the South China Sea, jumping off the dock, snorkeling, hiking through the jungle to other beaches, collecting shells, tying scuba diving, reading on the deck while listening to the waves crash on the rocks, watching the monitor lizards, building sand castles, and enjoying beautiful sunsets.

I am our family's...

edit: added 'floating dock', 2013-03-13
edit: added an example of being a human pillow in the furniture section, 2013-01-11
edit: added 'guinea pig', 2012-10-07

For this trip I am our family's...

• IT staff.  I support all of our technology:  iPods, iPads, Kindles, laptops, phones, Skype, Internet, online school, online school tools, printing tickets, translating recipes on food packets, web sites that don't work just right.
• Baker.  I make the "dough" that pays for all of this. Joe suggested I change this one to "Dough Boy" but I didn't like the connotation...
• Pack horse.  Somehow I always get the heaviest backpack for the longest time.  When the kids have their turns they watch the clock.  When their 30-minute turn is up they drop the backpack where ever they are.  But when dad has the backpack no one watches the clock...
• Furniture.  Whenever we are not in motion I become furniture.  Particularly, Jenna and Joe like to lean or lay on me.  This happens at Church, at the bus and train stops, and on the buses/trains.  Even when there is other furniture around somehow dad is better. On our bus ride today Jenna sat on me and Joe leaned on me and I held the food, water bottles, and rice paddy hats from slipping under the seat in front us every time the bus driver jumped on the brakes. I need a nap!
• Heater.  If it is at all cold anywhere I can count on Jenna and Joe snuggling up.  Some times this is nice when they form a small wind break.  Some times this is bad when they can't handle being around each other.
• Garbage disposal.  If anyone doesn't like or can't finish what they are eating, it ends up on my plate.  There is no limit to what it might be.  For instance, in Germany it was authentic home-style sauerkraut and pork chops eaten at a Church activity.  I liked it and could have eaten 3 plates more if my and Jenna's plates hadn't already filled me up.
• Guinea pig.  When we come across an unknown food item everyone looks to me to try it out first.  "If it won't kill dad then maybe we can try it too."
• Floating dock. Since we've been on Tioman Island and swam/snorkled multiple times every day I have become the floating dock for tired swimmers. It's not that bad since it is salt water and I float better in salt water.

Don't get me wrong.  I am NOT complaining and we actually have a fun time joking about my roles.  Hmmm, maybe I should start coming up with roles for the others...

Enjoy THIS Journey???

On our travels we have tried to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.  Part of the experience of travel is getting from place to place.  We have used many different transportation methods and some have turned out more enjoyable than others.  But sometimes the less than perfect arrangements turn out to be the most memorable.

It's the map's fault!

Last week we decided to visit the bird park in Kuala Lumpur. It wasn't to far from where we were at so we thought we would just walk. We let one of the kids have the map and navigate us there.

Baby Watch

This is NOT (repeat NOT) a "we're having a baby" announcement. This is a story of how a street vendor tried to get me to be a customer by insulting me.

Food Adventure- Deep Fried Squid

Yesterday for dinner I had deep fried squid.  It came out and it was just the tentacles (I was kind of disappointed about that).  It was really chewy and didn't have much of a flavor,  the squid looked like KFC chicken in little strips, but tasted like rubber.  It was fun to try it, but I don't think I will try it again.  Sorry no pictures.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - WOW

We're staying in a downtown hotel in Kuala Lumpur. We can see the monorail right outside our window. We can see an intersection where 5 or 6 streets come together. Our corner room has large windows on two sides. The windows don't seal all the way and so we hear lots of street noise but traffic isn't so bad.

Scuba Diving

A few days ago, I went scuba diving. We noticed a little shack when we first came to the island that said “izmi diving”. I didn't know what izmi was, but the diving part sounded promising. So we went the next day to the shack and talked to the owner of it about diving. He told us about the intro course and it sounded like fun. Later we talked it over and decided that Sam, my dad and I would go. We went out to the little shack at 11 in the morning and we learned what all of the tubes that connect to the breathing tank do. One changed your buoyancy, one was how you breathed, one showed how much air you had, and the last one was an emergency breather thing. Then we went out to chest deep water and did some drills that taught us how to breathe and obtain neutral buoyancy.  I kept drifting around because I was so light.  After about 15 minutes of that we went deeper. The deepest we ever got was 12 meters. We saw all sorts of fish and coral. The teacher of the class showed us a puffer fish and tried to make it puff up, but it wouldn't. The teacher tried to catch some fish, but they were way too fast for him, he also pointed out odd fish and other things. As we went down lower and lower we had to pop our ears so they didn't explode or something. We spent about a half hour under and then we came out. The scuba equipment was about as heavy as my backpack and so it was hard to climb out on the ladder. It was really fun, but I wouldn't be too interested in getting certified.

Best part of the Philippines

The very best part of our visit to the Philippines was being able to see my parents.  They have been serving as missionaries in the Philippines for 15 months now. We were able to rent an apartment just a few floors above where they live so it was easy for us to run down and see them very often.

World War II and the Philippines

While in the Philippines I was able to learn quite a bit about the Pacific theater of World War II. Most of my world war II studies have been about the war in Europe so I must admit I didn't know a lot about the Pacific war. I knew the Philippines were part of the war, but didn't understand how or why. So here is a little history lesson about what I learned. The Philippines had been under US rule since 1898 and in 1935 became a commonwealth of the US and was on a 10 year plan to full independence.

Live Shells on Corregidor

While in Philippines we visited the island of Corregidor for a day tour. It was a really neat tour that included a stop at the Pacific War Memorial Museum. I think the neatest part of the museum was the artifacts displayed. Our guide told us an interesting story about one of the artifacts.