Smiles

Smiles…and…smiles!

In the last month I saw a lot of smiles and there was a lot to smile about too. New cultures, people, places and experiences, reconnecting with dear long time (not old) friends and oh yes…new bodies of water! This a swim blog afterall.

We spent the last month traveling in Southeast Asia; Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The overwhelming memory was the general happiness and smiles we saw on a daily basis. I am not naive, I am sure there were unhappy people to be seen on our journey however my overall rememberance was one of smiles and happiness.

This was such an epic trip I am not sure how to capture it all. I will attempt to give you, patient reader, a quick tour of Southeast Asia by sharing a strong memory or two from each county and a peek of a new pool or a beautiful body of water.

Longtime friends Mike and Anne live in Singapore 🇸🇬 so we started and ended our journey in this unique city state.

After a long journey across the globe, Mike and Anne welcomed us with food and much needed rest.

The “welcome tour” spread over a couple days included the Singapore Botanical Garden, a UNESCO world heritage site, the Crazy Rich Asian mansion from the movie and a long walk along the Esplanade seeing the Merlion and the iconic Marina Sands Bay complex.

To further aide in our jet lag acclimatization we decided a quick trip to Indonesia 🇮🇩 to a beach resort was in order. A short ferry ride from Singapore landed us in Bintan Island. It’s part of the Riau island chain in Indonesia. En route to our hotel we stopped at the Bintan Day Spa. It was glorious 5+ hours…yes 5 hours…of massages and treatments. Shockingly very, very inexpensive.

Feeling like very relaxed wet noodles we checked into the Banyan Tree Bintan, beachside resort. We took a dip in our villa’s pool, enjoyed the resort grounds, had fun with the hotel staff and finished with dinner and wine under the stars.

After a big buffet breakfast we swam in all pools at the resort and even took a dip in the South China Sea (a “new” sea). We then headed back to Singapore. It was really hot so we cooled off and did some laps in the pool at Mike & Anne’s place.

It was a big day for those of us that keep track of all things aquatic; 2 countries, 5 different pools and swim in the sea in less than 12 hours- a new “first’!

We ended the day with a low key dinner and hit the sheets early. We were rested and ready to start our journey…

The next morning we got up and headed off to Singapore’s Changi airport with its Jewel shopping complex and iconic Rain Vortex fountain.

We were off to Thailand 🇹🇭! We would go to both Northern and Southern Thailand.

First stop…Chiang Mai.

Chiang Mai, in the north, is a city of just over a million people in the mountainous Thai highlands and an interesting old city filled with temples.

While there is so much to share about this cool city however, in the name of brevity I will stick with 3 highlights.

First, we had a sunrise tour and hike with a former Buddhist monk to Soi Duthep temple. Watching the sunrise, hearing the monks chant and seeing their quiet spirit was special. We were even blessed by a monk.

Second, we went to the Kanta Elephant Sanctuary for elephants that have previously worked hard in the tourism or logging industry. We were up front and close to these huge animals; petting them, feeding them and yes…bathing them. Does that count as swimming? Very memorable.

And lastly our hotel, Rachamankha Boutique Hotel. The hotel reflected the architecture, landscape and design of the Lanna culture and heritage found in Northern Thailand. It was simple elegance with cool art, beautiful gardens and open seating areas. And yes…since this is a swim blog they have a pool that I did laps in.

Oh…and I had a Thai massage…when in Thailand!

We were then off to meet Mike and Ann and visit the beaches of Southern Thailand.

We were staying at the Banyan Tree Krabi resort on the Adaman Sea. We were also celebrating Anne and Shannon’s birthdays and the hotel staff decorated our villa to help us celebrate in style.

Two highlights really stick out aside from lounging at our pool, the beach and just chatting and catching up.

We took a Thai longboat out to the Hong Islands just off the shore from our hotel. There are hundreds and hundreds of these karst islands made of limestone. We hiked, walked and swam in and around the pristine white sand beaches.

We even pretended we were Tik Tock’ers and Instagram’ers posing for pictures, which seems to be very popular in Asia.

And of course the ladies birthday dinner at the hotel’s Saffron restaurant.

Oh…and since it was our last stop in Thailand we got another Thai massage 🤷🏼‍♂️

Up next was Northern Vietnam 🇻🇳! With an unexpected stay in Bangkok (I messed up my Vietnamese visa) we eventually made it to Hanoi.

In the short 24+ hours we were in Hanoi (due to my visa mishap) we experienced the calm utter chaos of a city of 9 million people with 6 million motorcycles. Unbelievable to witness individuals and families on motorcycles and pedestrians randomly crossing the street in near harmony. Looking forward going back.

A few hours drive north of Hanoi and south of mainland China rests Halong Bay. We settled in for an overnight cruise of the thousands of karst islands in this 600 square mile UNESCO world heritage site.

It was the coldest place we had been in the whole of our trip. The karsts looked mystical in the overcast skies and fog. It was a small ship with only four state rooms. The staff was amazing, remembering our names and providing a special rendition of happy birthday for Shannon.

In the morning it was cool and raining. We got up and had the chance to hike up to a vista point on top of an island. There was an option for those who wanted to swim to take a dip in the bay. I opted in! How often to you get a chance to swim in a place like this?

Later that day we would head off to our final stop in Vietnam Hoi An. Once again we would hook up with Mike and Anne for a long weekend. Hoi An is in Vietnam near Da Nang along the Thu Bon river.

The river plays a focal point in this town with markets and cafes with colorful lanterns lining the banks. In the evening the river comes alive with people, boats and floating lanterns.

Hoi An is also known as a place to have custom clothes made (very inexpensively) . Shannon and Anne were armed with pics of clothes they wanted made…Mike and I weren’t too far behind.

We had an absolute ball running from store to store for fittings of shoes, dresses, pants and suits. Honestly, it was a cultural experience in and of itself.

Of course, we left plenty of time for walking around, good food, laughs and…massages! I had a four handed massage-yes four hands. I highly recommend.

Far and away the strongest memory was how nice everyone was. The hotel staff at the Anatara were amazing. They called us by name and totally engaged every time we saw them.

By the end our time there Mike and I felt like the mayor(s) walking the street by greeting the seamstresses, vendors, and massage ladies near by our hotel. Spas and massages are everywhere!

No real swimming done in Hoi An 🤷🏼‍♂️.

The journey continues…Siem Reap, Cambodia 🇰🇭

From the Vietnam/American war to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot regime that wiped out a quarter of the population we learned a lot about the history of this country.

While much of the recent history being tragic, Siem Reap is also the launching pad for visiting one of the seven wonders of the world-the Temples of Ankgor Wat.

We visited the Temples with a very early and hot 6 hour bike tour that started with sunrise over Ankgor Wat and ended at the ancient city of Ankgor Thom and the Bayon Temple.

Other highlights were the Phare circus, the landmine sniffing Hero Rats of Apopo and a world-class dinner at the Embassy Restaurant.

The pool at the Templation while very big, wasn’t ideal for lap swimming so I swam the circumference!

Oh…and I did get a Cambodian massage!

It was then back to Singapore for our last night in Southeast Asia.

Our last hurrah was the Jack Johnson concert at the Singapore Performing Arts Center. The music competition was tough in Singapore that night as Taylor Swift was also performing down the street.

Jack’s encore perfectly summed up much of how I felt about our journey-Better Together…

I’ve done my best to try and succinctly put my thoughts on paper about this epic journey. Not sure I succeeded in doing it succinctly.

Early on in this blog I said my overwhelming memory of this trip will be the general happiness and smiles we encountered on a daily basis in every country we visited.

Not entirely sure why that is the case but maybe its lies in this quote from the Buddha-The past is already gone, the future is not yet here. There’s only one moment for you to live, and that is in the present!

PS-I had a massage in every country except Singapore. I guess we need to go back.

PSS-my new favorite meme